Attracted to a Weasley
by aForgottenWeasley
Summary: Hermione finds out she is not muggleborn like she always thought she was. She has magical blood running through her veins; Veela blood to be exact! When some traits of hers kick in, what's a girl to do when she finds her mate in a Weasley?
1. Chapter 1

**New Story in progress! I have about 4 chapters of this story finished, but I hit writers block in the 5th. I never post a story unless I have all the chapters finished, but I need to know something before I kill myself trying to finish writing this story!**

**Is this story something you would like me to continue? Read this first chapter and then leave a review telling me if it's worth finishing or not. It's really important to me that I know people will read this. I don't want to write out the whole thing and then have no-one read it. You know?**

**If you all like this, I'm sorry to say it will be a while before I post the next chapter. If no-one likes it, I'll just delete it.**

* * *

><p>Hermione Granger studied her features in the spotless mirror that hung over her bathroom sink. In less than twenty-four hours she'd be turning twenty-one and she was already looking for any signs of wrinkles amongst her skin. Twenty-one is not normally considered old, but to Hermione, being single and living on her own made it seem like she was. She lived in her very one own flat across the street from the Leaky Cauldron in muggle London. Its two bedroom, spacious living area, and kitchen space fitted her and Crookshanks perfectly.<p>

Hermione picked up a brush from the the counter and brushed her hair back into a low hanging ponytail, except for a few wavy strands that she left alone to frame her face. She stared at the color of her hair that seemed to have puzzled her over the past three years. Ever since the war ended, as well as some relationships, Hermione took time to focus on herself and only herself. It took a while to realize it but eventually she did.

Her hair color had changed.

It wasn't too drastic so that people automatically commented on it, but it was noticeable to her who had to look in the mirror every day. She once had wavy chocolate brown hair that cascaded down passed her shoulders, but now it was chocolate brown with a hint of honey streaks here and there. Nothing else changed about her so she figured it was her magic acting wonky and never brought it up to anyone who didn't ask.

A phone ringing in the distance brought Hermione out of her thoughts and she made her way into her bedroom. Seeing that it was her parent's house phone calling, she accepted the call and plopped down on her bed.

"Hello?" She answered.

"_Hello, dear." _Mrs. Granger replied from the other side of the phone call. _"How are you this evening?"_

"I'm fine, Mum. Just getting ready for bed and picking out an outfit for my birthday tomorrow night at the Burrow." Hermione was tracing an invisible pattern on her pant leg as she spoke.

"_Oh, I see. Hermione, I'm really sorry that your Father and I can't make it-"_

"It's fine, Mum. I already told you that." Hermione assured her. "Those tickets you and Dad have are very hard to come by. It's okay."

"_If you're sure." _Mrs. Granger paused for a moment, something she never did when talking to Hermione and Hermione instantly knew something else was on her mind.

"What's wrong, Mum? Has something happened?"

"_No, dear. Nothing like that." _Mrs. Granger cleared her throat and continued on. _"If it's possible, do you think you can stop by the house before you leave for your dinner? I need to speak with you real quick."_

"Sure, Mum, but why can't you just tell me now?" Hermione was now sitting up, her full attention on the unusual phone call.

"_No. This has to be done face to face." _Hermione could hear some shuffling on the other side of the line. _"Your father should be home soon and I must speak with him as well. I'll see you tomorrow, Hermione. Bye."_

Hermione didn't even get the chance to say her 'good-bye' before her Mother ended the call. She sat there speechless for a few moments before setting her phone aside and letting her mind go crazy with thoughts of what that phone call was all about. Right away, she thought for a moment that her Mother might tell her that she was adopted but immediately squashed that thought when she remembered she already knew she wasn't. She had first asked that when she found out she was going to attend Hogwarts for Witchcraft and Wizardry but her parents laughed it off and told her she wasn't adopted. She couldn't think of anything else that might be wrong so she decided to call it a night and just pick out her outfit tomorrow.

After making a quick trip around her flat to make sure that all appliances were off, as well as lights, she made her way back upstairs and went to bed.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

Morning rolled around and Hermione woke up with Crookshanks pawing at her cheek. When she had finally fully opened her eyes, Crookshanks pressed his flat face against Hermione's cheek and purred.

Hermione chuckled and hugged her cat to her chest. "You're the first to wish me a Happy Birthday, Crooks. Thank you." After releasing the cat, he walked to the edge of the bed and jumped off, rushing back to his comfortable bed in the corner of the room.

Hermione then proceeded to take her time getting up and getting ready.

She sleepily stumbled her way down the stairs and cooked herself up a nice breakfast. Scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, plump sausages, and toast with strawberry marmalade with a big glass of orange juice. (If she had red hair, people would think she was part of the Weasley clan who was known for their huge appetites.) After she noticed that she made too much for herself, she brushed some off into Crookshanks bowl and let him eat along with her.

During her entire breakfast, owls kept swooping in and dropping off letters and birthday cards from all her friends. Majority of them came from the Weasley clan, including Charlie who was in Romania, Harry, and some of her newer friends that she made while working at Flourish and Blotts. She quickly read every letter and card before she decided to take an early shower and go visit her parents.

After a long steamy shower and some time spent grooming in there as well, Hermione found herself standing in nothing but a towel before her closet. She never had so much trouble picking out an outfit to wear before. Deciding that she was just going to pick whatever her hand landed on first, she closed her eyes and stuck her hand in the closet, pulling out a hanger that held a shirt and jeans. Opening her eyes, she found that she was holding black skinny jeans that was matched with sky blue v-neck shirt. Remembering she had a short black leather jacket that she usually matched with this outfit, she pulled that out too. After putting on the outfit, she thought it was more of a clubbing outfit but since she wanted to get out of her flat already, she wore it anyway. She pulled on some black open-toe stilettos and grabbed her wand, magically drying her hair and pulling it into a side-way ponytail at the nape of her neck. Making sure she had everything she needed, she made sure Crookshanks wouldn't be able to get into mischief and apparated into the backyard of her parent's home.

Hermione had barely made it to the back door when it was pulled opened and she was engulfed in a hug by her Mother. She noticed that her Mother was slightly trembling and very tense.

Mrs. Granger pulled out of the hug, holding Hermione by the shoulders and smiled sadly at her. "Your Father is sitting in the other room. Why don't you go say hello before I talk to you?"

Hermione nodded and found her feet leading her to where her Father usually sat at. She quickly found herself standing outside his study area and knocked gently on the door before entering. After she shut the door behind her, her eyes caught her Father staring at her as he curiously studied her. When his eyes landed on her hair, his shoulders seemed to have slumped and he heavily sighed.

"Hi, Daddy." She smiled.

Mr. Granger feebly smiled, stood up and walked around his desk to hug his daughter. "Happy Birthday, love." He tightened his hold on Hermione for a split second and then released her. "If you excuse me, I- uh-, have to be at the office right now. Last minute dentist emergency." His eyes never met hers and he quickly left, leaving Hermione standing alone.

Feeling like she had done something wrong that she didn't know about, her eyes grew misty and she wiped at them when she heard the door open again. Mrs. Granger stepped in and gestured for Hermione to take a seat in one of the chairs.

She fought hard to keep her eyes from misting over again when Mrs. Granger grabbed her hands within hers. "I have something to tell you.. and I'm not sure how you're going to take it."

Hermione looked into her Mother's eyes and saw that, she too, was fighting back tears. "Does this have anything to deal with why Daddy seems upset?"

Mrs. Granger nodded and then frowned, a tear slipping down her cheek and falling to the ground. "I let him in on a long kept secret and he wasn't too happy with me." Hermione tensed, afraid that something was wrong with her parent's marriage. Mrs. Granger looked down at her lap and let more tears fall. "I, uh, I don't know how to exactly tell you this-"

"Please don't tell me you're getting a divorce?"

"No!" Mrs. Granger's head snapped up. "No, you're father and I are perfectly fine.. well at least I hope we still are."

"Then what is it, Mum? You can tell me anything." Hermione's heart was hammering hard and fast against her rib cage. What in the world could be so bad that her Father would be upset with her Mother?

"You-you're not exactly muggleborn like you think you are." Mrs. Granger spoke so softly that if there was any other noise, Hermione wouldn't have heard her. "You actually have magical blood running through your veins. You get it from my side of the family, just in case you're wondering. The magic tends to skip some generations in our family and since it skipped me, I thought it would skip you as well. I only told your Father last night and he wasn't too happy about it. He loves the fact that you fit in with the magical community but he just never thought for a second that it ran in my family. I guess he's just in shock at the moment since you know.. he's never really liked anything magical to happen right in front of him." Mrs. Granger had stopped crying and was now sitting up straighter, staring Hermione in the eyes.

Hermione, on the other hand, was shocked. That was something she didn't expect to be hearing. "Why are you only telling me this now?"

"Because of your hair color." She answered. Hermione's hand quickly shot to her hair and she ran her fingers through the ponytail. "I noticed that the color got lighter and now that your twenty-first birthday is only hours away, some other traits might kick in as well."

"W-what other traits?" Hermione stood and started to pace back and forth in her Father's study. "I'm a witch who carries a wand like other witches and wizards. What other traits can I possibly get that they don't already have?"

Mrs. Granger sadly smiled and shook her head. "Yes you have magic like every other witch and wizard, but you don't have the same blood as they do."

Hermione knew she should be angry, but she couldn't find it in herself to be angry with her Mother. So she wasn't a muggleborn, who cares? At least now, some nasty witches and wizards couldn't look at her anymore and say she had dirty blood. "Then what type of blood do I have?"

"Veela."

For a split second, Hermione stopped breathing and she quickly dropped herself into the empty chair. "V-veela? Like the bird head, long talons, and scaly wings Veela?"

"Yes.. and no." Mrs. Granger chuckled after she saw that her daughter wasn't angry with her. "You have very little of the blood within you, so I don't think you will transform all the way like full-blood Veelas do."

Hermione playfully rolled her eyes and started to laugh. "Oh, well that's comforting."

"Yes, well you have a dinner to get to and I have a husband to talk to again. You should be heading to the Burrow, shouldn't you?"

"Um, yes, I should." Hermione checked the time and saw that she had hours before she was needed at the Burrow but she decided to head over early anyway.

Before Hermione could leave the house, her Mother placed a hand on her shoulder. "Remember, dear, at exactly 7:37PM.. other traits will kick in. I'm not sure what traits you will end up getting so please be careful."

"Of course, Mum. Goodbye!"

And before her Mother could say 'good-bye', she apparated on the spot and soon found herself directly outside the front gate to the Burrow.

* * *

><p><strong>Hmm.. I'm not sure whether I'm proud of this or not -_-<strong>

**Remember, if any of you like this, leave your thoughts in a review! **

**I need to know whether or not I should continue this story.  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: For those of you who left positive reviews, THANK YOU! I was really scared that this would interest no-one so I'm glad I picked up a few readers. Hopefully I don't disappoint anymore. Just so you know, this chapter picks up directly after the last one.**

* * *

><p>Hermione had finally managed to enter through the small gate and started her short walk up to the front door. She knocked a couple of times before the door flew open and Mrs. Weasley stepped forward, apron over her clothes and her hair sticking out in every direction. (If Hermione hadn't known better, she'd think that there was an explosion somewhere.)<p>

"Hermione! You're a tad bit early, dear. Is something wrong?" Mrs. Weasley gave her a quick hug and ushered her inside.

Hermione knew that she hadn't masked her emotions quick enough so she had to lie her way out of this one. "Uh, well, my parents hit a bit of a rough patch earlier and from the looks of it, they're not too happy with each other at the moment." It wasn't really a lie, she just left out the information that would be changing her life in just a few hours.

"All will be well soon enough." Mrs. Weasley assured her. "Every married couple hits a rough patch every now and then, and they get through it together." Hermione weakly smiled at her. "Well since you're a bit earlier than your guests, why don't you sit in the sitting area with a good book and I'll come fetch you when everyone is here."

Not feeling the need to argue with her, Hermione agreed and soon found herself sitting in Mr. Weasley's favorite recliner with a book in her hands. Some magical romance novel was staring Hermione in the face and she couldn't help but let her mind wonder back to her discussion with her Mother from earlier.

She was part Veela.

She didn't know how much since her Mother didn't go into a deeper discussion about it, but she had Veela blood running through her veins. She knew that she should be panicking since she didn't know exactly what was going to happen, but she couldn't find it in herself to worry. Hermione was actually feeling excited that she now knew she actually did have magical blood in her family. She never told anyone, but she still felt self-conscious that she was a muggleborn. Now, she didn't have to worry about that. She would now be classified as a half-blood even if she did have less than half magical blood in her.

The emerald green flames that erupted in the fireplace interrupted her train of thought as Ginny stepped out, followed by Harry.

"Happy Birthday!" Ginny immediately shouted, a smile gracing her lips. She quickly hugged Hermione before Harry could get a go at her and sat on the loveseat opposite from Hermione's chair. "What are you doing here so early?" Harry quickly hugged her as well and sat on the loveseat with his long-time girlfriend.

Hermione told them the same thing that she had told Mrs. Weasley. They assured her that everything would be okay and she needed to cheer up because it was her birthday.

Harry and Ginny made sure to keep Hermione talking and never gave her a chance to think of anything else. Ron soon floo'd in, but he barely spoke a word to them, and soon after that Fleur and Bill floo'd in. After saying a quick 'hello', Fleur went directly to the kitchen to help Mrs. Weasley with anything that she needed for the birthday dinner.

**. . .**

**. . .**

The hours had quickly passed and the clan soon found themselves seated at the dinner table. Mr. Weasley had given up the head of the table for the birthday girl, Hermione, and everyone chose their seat around her. Harry sat to her left with Ron next to him, followed by Mr. Weasley. On Hermione's right, Ginny sat with Bill next to her and Fleur at his side and then Mrs. Weasley. The end of the table was left open for whenever the twins had decided to show up.

"I swear, if it isn't a dinner for either one of them, they won't ever show up on time!" Mrs. Weasley scolded from her side of the table. "I guess we should just tuck in then."

No-one made any objections since they already had to wait fifteen minutes. With a flick of her wand, the table was suddenly filled with food that made everyone's mouth water. Pot Roast with baked potatoes appeared in front of Hermione and further down the table she could see roasted chicken, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus with melted butter, and more pot roast at the end of the table.

Everyone loaded their plates and fell into a comfortable chat while savoring the different tastes of food.

**. . .**

**. . .**

Everyone seemed to be in a state of contentment after they finished dinner. Time seemed to be flying fast and before Hermione knew it, it was 7:34PM and time for dessert.

Mrs. Weasley levitated a birthday cake onto the table in front of Hermione. The birthday cake was white and had Gryfindor colored stripes along the sides of it and lit sparklers topped it off. Everyone applauded and then the whole clan sang out the magical version of _Happy Birthday. _Hermione giggled through most of it and after they finished, Mrs. Weasley was getting ready to cut the cake when Harry stopped her.

"Wait!" Harry shot up from his seat. Every pair of eyes turned on him and a pink blush tinted his cheeks. "Uh, I don't know if Hermione still does it but in muggle tradition, they always make a wish and blow out the candles."

Harry's little outburst had caught Mr. Weasley's attention. "Muggle tradition, you say?" His amused expression made everyone chuckle. "You must do it then. Go on. Blow them out and make a wish!"

Hermione sheepishly smiled and closed her eyes for a brief moment, then opened them back up and blew out the sparklers.

In the next second, everything changed.

Hermione's eyesight has always been clear but now it was really, really clear. The fine cracks in the table that she normally couldn't see were now visible, including the small specks of dirt that the wash cloth missed. Noises that she normally never heard were now perfectly clear. She could hear the fluttering of Pig's wings and she knew for a fact that Pig was on the uppermost part of the house. And even her sense of smell was magnified. She could smell the usual aromas of the food that they had just eaten but she could also spell every single spice that went into the food that one's self wouldn't be able to smell. Another thing that shocked Hermione was that she could feel everyone's emotions. Almost everyone in the kitchen, except for two people, were happy and in good spirits. One person, who with a glance at Ron told Hermione it was him, seemed grumpy and agitated. Another person, who Hermione guessed was Fleur because of the strange looks she was giving her, seemed to be confused and curious.

A plate passed in front of Hermione and she saw that Mrs. Weasley was passing out pieces of cake. "Everything all right, dear?" She questioned as she saw that Hermione looked slightly dazed.

"Mhm. Perfect." Hermione answered. She didn't exactly want to tell them what was going on at the moment. So far everything seemed okay and she figured she could handle it. Hermione was just about to taste her cake when three new smells hit her all at once.

Freshly mown grass, spearmint toothpaste, and parchment paper.

Her chest tightened, her breath and heartbeat quickened, and everyone around her seemed to move in slow motion. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Fleur moving towards her and then the kitchen doors were thrown open.

"Sorry we're late ladies and gents-.."

"..but we had some angry customers to deal with-.."

"..and we only got them to finally leave the shop."

The twins walked in and before anyone could lecture them for being late, Hermione collapsed and Fleur caught her before she could hit the ground.

* * *

><p><strong>Dun, dun, dun. I'm pretty sure that was horrible, haha. I promise the upcoming chapters are more amusing :) As for the story progress, I have good news and bad news.<strong>

**Good news: Remember how I was stuck on not knowing what to write for chapter 5? Well I managed to write out chapters 5, 6, & 7!**

**Bad news: I am now stuck on chapter 8 -_-**

**Next update will be next Sunday and if I can finish the entire story soon, updates will be more frequently and you won't have to wait a whole week for a new chapter. **


	3. Chapter 3

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL THE POSITIVE REVIEWS! You lot have made my day yet again :) And for those of you who really enjoyed the last chapter.. I'm so sorry about how I left you all hanging =P**

**As for this chapter, I had loads of trouble with writing Fleur's accent so please excuse my lame attempt at it. Once again, this chapter picks up moments later after the previous one!**

* * *

><p>Hermione didn't know how long she was out but she did know that she had been moved and at least one person was in the room with her.<p>

"How long have I been out?" Hermione groaned. She felt someone sit beside her on the bed she was currently on and she lifted her hand to remove the cloth that was covering her eyes. With the cloth out of the way, Hermione saw that she was alone in a room with Fleur.

"'Ow long 'ave you known?" Fleur asked, completely ignoring Hermione's question.

Hermione sighed, closed her eyes and struggled internally with herself wondering if she should tell Fleur what she already knew. With Fleur being a half-Veela, she more than likely could sense that Hermione had it in her as well. "For a few hours now. My mother thought that she'd only inform me right before my birthday dinner." Hermione admitted. She felt Fleur grab her hand and squeeze it in a comforting manner. "Does everyone else know? Did you tell them what I am?"

"No." Fleur spoke. "Zat is your zecret to tell. Although you might have to tell them now. I told them zat I might know what eez wrong, but that I wasn't sure. I'm zorry."

Hermione sat up, her back leaning against the headboard of the bed and she smiled at Fleur. "It's okay. I'll tell them once we get out of the room since now they're probably suspicious and I don't like to keep secrets from them." Fleur nodded and pulled Hermione up from the bed by the hand. "But I do have a question for you?" Hermione stopped walking before they could reach the bedroom door. "Do you know why I passed out down there?"

"I think 'zo. Your zenses went into overdrive and your body didn't know 'ow to react to et yet."

"Oh. Will that happen all the time now?" Fleur shook her head 'no' and gave Hermione an encouraging smile. "Well, lets get downstairs and explain everything then."

**. . .**

**. . .**

Hermione sat in the living room explaining everything to the remaining Weasley clan.

Ron had decided to leave early since before he had arrived at the Burrow, he had a terrible row with his fiancee and felt guilty so he left to make things better. The twins, who both got shoved out of the house for cracking one too many jokes after Hermione's collapse, were still outside flying around their Quidditch pitch since no-one remembered to call them back in.

Mr. Weasley was sitting in his usual recliner by the fireplace listening intently and Molly sat on the left armrest, hand clasped over her mouth to keep from gasping at Hermione's tale. Harry and Ginny took the loveseat sofa, yet again, and both sat with their jaws hanging open.

_How could their Hermione be a Veela? And how could she be only telling them now? That should've been the first thing she told them when they were chatting earlier, right?_

Hermione sat on the regular sofa with Fleur and Bill on either side of her. Fleur held her hand the entire time of Hermione speaking and Bill had his arm draped over her shoulders, giving her a squeeze whenever he felt like she needed one. Bill, having been married to a Veela himself, knew what kind of things Veela's went through so he was there being a shoulder to lean on.

"So you're a.." Ginny trailed off, still stunned about the information they were just told. "I mean.. wow! Now you're hair makes so much sense!" The stunned expression was wiped from her face and a huge smile replaced it and she looked over Hermione's hair that was a lighter shade of brown now.

"Really, Gin?" Hermione grinned. "That's all you've got to say?" The grin that stayed on Hermione's face let Ginny know that she was only joking.

"So what happens now?" Mrs. Weasley spoke up, a look of worry on her face. "Now that you're, -er, part Veela.." she trailed off.

"Nothing happens." Harry glanced at everyone's face who turned towards him. "Hermione is still Hermione. She's the same girl we grew up with and nothing will change." Mrs. Weasley relaxed at his words and everyone smiled at the strong friendship that the two of them still held. "Only now she might be able to really hurt us when she's angry."

Hermione pouted at Harry and laughter rang out in the room. Everyone fell into a comfortable chat and only Harry seemed the brave enough one to crack jokes about Hermione and her Veela traits. Everyone laughed since Hermione seemed to be fine with it and their laughter slowly died down.

Ginny, who had lots of questions running through her mind, finally couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up. "With you being part Veela, do you know what traits you will get?"

Hermione let her giggles die away before answering. "Sort of. Since all this skipped my Mum, she never thought that it'd happen to me so she never brushed up on her knowledge of our heritage. Although.. she did tell me I won't get the wings, talons, or transform fully but my senses would get kicked up a few notches." She smiled. "I can already sense emotions, see clearer, hear sharper, and my sense of smell is really sensitive now."

"That's neat!" Ginny beamed and then quickly glanced at Fleur. "Not that it w-wasn't neat with y-you, Fleur." She stuttered. "It's just when we met y-you, we knew you were already a Veela and Hermione grew up with.."

Fleur held her hand up to stop Ginny from rambling and chuckled. "I underztand."

Ginny sighed in relief and silence fell upon the room. For Hermione, it felt really nice to have them all accept her even though she wasn't the muggleborn they all thought she was. She kind of thought that they'd tiptoe around her and be afraid of her since they really didn't know what to expect from her new genes.

Hermione had just let her eyes close shut for a moment when the smell of freshly mown grass, spearmint toothpaste, and parchment wafted into the room. Her head swayed from side to side, eyes still closed, and a goofy grin lifting up the corner of her lips.

"Er-, Hermione?" Harry mumbled from across the room. "Are you okay?"

Without opening her eyes, Hermione nodded, the grin never leaving her face. "Do you smell that?" She whispered to no-one in particular yet Fleur placed a hand on her knee.

"Smell what?"

The smell was getting stronger and Hermione's heart started to beat faster. For some reason that she couldn't figure out why, she was getting really excited. "It's spearmint toothpaste.. mown grass.. and parchment paper." She happily sighed.

Realization settled in and Fleur gasped with everyone looking at her expectantly. "Yes," Fleur nodded. "I can smell et and I can feel your emotions. 'Zat ez the smell of.."

"Isn't that what you smelled with the Amortentia potion back in sixth year, Hermione?" Harry piped up, cutting Fleur off for a second.

"Your mate." Fleur finished her sentence in a whisper.

The door that led into the kitchen swung open and in walked the twins, arms draped over each other's shoulders.

"Aw. What a shame, Freddie, we missed Granger waking up." George fake whined.

"Indeed, brother. Such a shame." Fred chuckled. "We could've pulled a fantastic prank if we were there when she woke up making her think days and days have passed or something. Would've been brilliant."

Every head whipped in Fred and George's direction, eyes wide. If what Fleur just said what they all thought they heard, one of them was the mate of Hermione.

Fred and George stopped just inside the door frame and wondered what had just happened. Everyone was staring at them but no-one was speaking and Hermione seemed like she was somewhere off in La-La land with her goofy grin. "Did we miss something?" They both spoke in unison.

Hermione's eyes instantly snapped open and she quickly stood, eyes trained at the boys. She couldn't determine which one the smell was coming from, but at the moment she didn't care. The smell was comforting and calming to her. Whoever it was coming from, she'd figure that out later.

"'Ermione?" Fleur reached up to grab Hermione's hand and pull her back to sit down when _it _happened.

The goofy grin instantly vanished and her whole body went rigid. Warning bells were going off in Hermione's head but she couldn't tell what they meant. All she knew was that she wanted to be next to that lovely smell again but the people in the room were all staring oddly at her.

She suddenly felt threatened.

Her eyes glowed a golden honey color before they started to fade into a pure black and her eyes zeroed in on every Weasley that was in the room, including Harry. The only thought that seemed to take up her mind was that she needed to stand next to one of the twins, but she didn't know which one. Her hands that hung at her sides slowly fisted and a low growl erupted from the back of her throat. She tried to reason with her mind that everyone in this room was harmless, but she couldn't help it. Her mind kept whispering to her that they were the only obstacle in her way to the twins' side.

She took a step towards Ginny, who happened to be closest to the twins when Bill shot up from the sofa, wand at the ready and shouted _"__Incarcerous." _Ropes flew out the tip of his wand and wrapped around Hermione, trapping her and making her lose her balance. With Harry's quick reflexes, he stood up and caught Hermione before she fell to the floor. Ginny and Mrs. Weasley shrieked in fear for her and everyone started to close in on Harry and Hermione in the middle of the room.

Bill held up his hand and motioned for them to stop. "Don't! Stay back."

Hermione focused her attention on Bill and snarled. "You hurt him and I'll kill you." Her face was so contorted with anger that no-one knew what to do. Their Hermione was so gentle and loving that hearing such a threat fall from her mouth stunned them.

Upon hearing a threat against her mate, Fleur stepped forward and snarled right back. "You won't touch him!" Fleur's eyes were pitch black as well, no sign of white anywhere. Bill laid a hand on his wife's shoulder and pulled her back into his chest, calming her down.

The threat from Fleur seemed to snap Hermione out of her Veela instincts and her eyes went back to their normal chocolate brown. Noticing that she was now calm, Fleur was able to calm down herself and apologize. "I'm zorry."

"No, no. I deserved that." Hermione sniffled, tears slowly filling her eyes.

"Really.. what did we miss?" Both twins spoke at the same time, stunned at what just happened right before their eyes.

Ginny, who suddenly found everything quite hilarious, swatted Fred's shoulder. "Oh, nothing. We just found out that Hermione is part Veela and one of you is apparently her mate."

"_WHAT?"_

* * *

><p><strong>For some reason, I got lots of joy writing Hermione getting all protective and Fleur protecting her husband. <strong>

**Unfortunately, some stuff came up this past week and I got no writing done what-so-ever. So, looks like I'll be seeing you all again next Sunday :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: You lot have no idea how much your feedback makes me happy! It also kind of scares me, haha. Some of you are saying that you've never been into Veela fics before but this one you like :o And now I'm afraid of disappointing some of you.**

**Anyway, sorry for not giving out personal thanks. That takes quite a while and this is so much easier to THANK YOU ALL right here =P**

* * *

><p>A couple days passed since Hermione came into her Veela genes. Being that she was still getting used to everything, Harry took it upon himself to fill in Hermione's boss on what was going on, and only her boss. Completely understanding the dangers of a Veela, the boss gave Hermione permission to take as much time as she needed and whenever she was ready to return, her job would be waiting for her.<p>

Ever since that fateful night of Hermione's protective instincts kicking in, Fred and George have tried to corner her and ask her which one of them was her mate. Of course they were shocked to find out that one of them was destined for their little brother's best friend but if it was written in the stars, there was no backing out.

Mrs. Weasley had done everything in her power to keep the twins from Hermione until she figured out what she was going to do, but they always managed to get around their Mother somehow so it was up to Fleur and Bill.

Fleur and Bill took Hermione to Shell Cottage and put up protective wards against the twins while Molly took in Crookshanks so Hermione didn't have to worry about him. Hermione needed to get a grip on her new life before she was introduced to her mate again. They didn't want to risk another chance of Hermione trying to attack someone that was in the same room as Fred or George.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

"I'm really sorry you have to be cooped up in here." Bill spoke softly to Hermione. It had been a week since she was on lock-down at Shell Cottage and wasn't allowed any visitors. They both sat at the dining table as the early morning sun was peeking in through the small window above the sink. "Mum, Dad, Fleur, and I thought it was best we get your instincts under control before we take you back to the Burrow and figure out who your mate is."

The cup of tea that Hermione was about to sip from stopped before it reached her lips. "Can w-we do that without me getting overly protective.. or too excited?" She gulped, a blush rushing up the sides of her neck and onto her cheeks.

"Of course." Bill chuckled. He turned around in his chair and reached across the counter that was directly behind him. Picking up a vial filled with lilac covered potion, he turned back around and placed it front of Hermione. "Fleur wrote to her Mother in France and asked for the ingredients to this potion. It helps to control the urges that rise up within the Veela when he or she is around their mate."

"Brilliant." Hermione offered a smile but since she was still unsure about her new traits, her smile didn't fully reach her eyes. "When do we try it out?"

"Tonight."

**. . .**

**. . .**

The twins were out in the Garden at the Burrow doing one of their tasks that their Mum had assigned them. Ever since they started to try and follow Hermione whenever they could, Molly assigned them household duties for whenever they showed up. Any free time they had, they spent it trying to break down their brother's protective charms at Shell Cottage but were never successful.

Currently, they were stuck in the garden pulling out gnomes and tossing them as far as they could away from the house.

"Do you reckon' they'll tell us soon which one of us is her mate?" George huffed as he twirled on the spot and tossed a grumpy gnome out of the garden. "Verity has been flirting with me lately and I've got the urge to ask her on a date.."

"Verity flirts with everyone." Fred cut him off, chuckling. "But I see where you're coming from. You wanna make sure it's not you before you take out another witch." George nodded, letting his twin know that he assumed right.

The sun was beating down on the Fred and George, sweat dripping down their foreheads, and dirt clinging to their hands and freckly faces. It seemed that the garden hadn't been de-gnomed in quite some time since they were putting in so much work into pulling out gnome after gnome.

After what seemed like forever, the twins finished their job and walked over to the Weeping Willow by the small lake behind the Burrow and rested up.

George laid beneath the tree, enjoying the shade and slight breeze that picked up after a moment. Fred leaned against the base of the tree and plucked up the grass from the ground, his forehead creased in concentration.

"Do you think that if one of us gets with Hermione, she'll change? Or will she be the same girl we always grew up with?" Fred questioned out loud. He continued to pluck up the grass and shred it in his fingers before letting it fall back to the ground.

"It's Granger." George offered, his hands beneath his head acting as a cushion and his eyes closed. "Besides being part Veela now, has she ever changed before when she was in a relationship with someone?"

"Not that I remember." Fred gave up shredding the grass and stared out into the lake beside them. "Do you think that since it's one of us, she'll either hate us or grow uncomfortable around us?"

"Once again, it's Granger we're talking about." George muttered.

"Yeah but," Fred sighed trying to put his thoughts into words. "She grew up with us and we always protected her like a sister. Don't you think she'd find it weird?"

George cracked open an eye and saw that his twin seemed unnerved. Leaning up on his elbows and carefully studying Fred, he grinned. "Why are you worried about what she's going to think?" He questioned. Fred shook his head and turned his face away from his twin. "More importantly, how come you're only worried about her reaction. What about your reaction, when and if, we find out you're her mate?"

"Nothing. F-forget about it." Fred stammered. He started to pick at the grass yet again and tried to focus on anything but his twin who was grinning knowingly next to him. Sighing, he dropped the pieces of shredded grass from his hands and faced George. "Fine, I fancy her, okay! I've fancied her for a while now. Now stop staring at me like that."

George chuckled and shook his head from side to side, still grinning at his twin. He couldn't believe that he never saw it sooner since they had the whole twin bond thing going for them. "Since when?"

"Her Fifth year."

"Really? I figured it would've been the Yule Ball. That's when everyone seems to have saw her in a different light."

"Yeah, well, the Yule Ball opened up my eyes to the beauty that hid behind the books.." Fred started, a small grin tugging at his lips as he remembered the first time he admitted to himself he had fallen for the girl of the Golden Trio. "But in her Fifth year, when we left Hogwarts with a_ bang_, I saw Hermione cheering us on in the crowd and that's when I realized that she enjoyed our pranks. She didn't look down upon us, she actually enjoyed what we did and yeah.." He trailed off still grinning like a fool.

George whistled lowly as his twin grew quiet. "You've got it bad, Freddie."

"Shove it."

"Well, just so you know, I'm rooting for you to be the one." George patted his twin's knee. "Hermione's a beautiful witch, but I don't know. She might be fun to flirt around with every now and then, but I think she suits you better."

Fred smiled down at his brother as they both grew quiet and stared out across the lake. They sat beneath the tree until the sun started to fall behind the hills and the crickets started to sing.

The two of them were making their way back towards the Burrow when Molly met them halfway. "Oh there you two are. Hurry and clean up then meet me in the kitchen. We need to get to the bottom of this immediately." She turned to go back into the house and left the twins on their own.

Fred and George stared at the retreating form of their Mum and then glanced at one another. Shrugging their shoulders, they whipped out their wands from a small pocket that was sewn into every pair of jeans they owned and cast at _"Scourgify" _on each other. Almost instantaneously, the dirt vanished from their faces, hands, and clothes.

Smirking a job well done to each other, they flung their arms around each other's shoulders and headed for the kitchen door.

Upon entering the kitchen, the conversation they walked in on immediately ceased and the twin's laughter got caught in their throat. Sitting in the middle, on the opposite side of the table, was Hermione. She turned her face in their direction and offered them a weak smile, lifting her hand to gently wave at them.

**. . .**

**. . .**

The kitchen door swung open and Hermione's sense of smell was instantly assaulted with the scent of freshly mown grass, spearmint toothpaste, and parchment paper. Her heart pounded against her ribcage and her stomach was quivering with need to be next to her mate, but the potion she had drank earlier in the day kept her from seeking him out. Since the twins were still standing side-by-side, she couldn't tell where the smell was coming from. Since they were twins, they smelled exactly the same except for one different smell. Apple cinnamon was added to the mix so she knew whoever that smell belonged to wasn't her mate. They both smiled back at her and Molly rushed to their sides.

"We've decided it's time to figure out which one of you is Hermione's mate." Molly told them. "You're each going to sit at either end of the table and well.. Hermione will take it from there, I guess."

Hermione nodded at the plan. It was a very simple plan and she was surprised they didn't do this from the start. George moved forward to the place that would be on Hermione's left and Fred walked over to the place on her twins each took a seat and they all held their breath, except for Hermione.

She breathed in deeply and followed the smell since the main source of it seemed to have moved. She closed her eyes and let her sense of smell take over. A small grin made it's way onto her face and she felt her head slightly tilt to her right.

Fred was on her right.

She instantly froze and prayed that no-one caught on to which way her head swayed. She centered herself before she opened her eyes and awkwardly smiled. "Uh. Okay. I know who it is." She fidgeted in her seat and wished that it could all be over but she knew that they wanted to know as well.

"Who is it then?" Molly beat her boys to the question. Hermione locked eyes with her and tried to plead with her not to force her to tell.

Of course she wasn't disappointed that it was Fred. She was ecstatic really but he couldn't possibly feel the same for her and if he did, it was only because she was part Veela.

She didn't know how she could always tell the difference between the twins but she did. She had grew up harboring a tiny crush on Fred and figured that one day it would go away. The older Weasley boys all grew up knowing her as their little brother's best friend and Hogwarts little Prefect. He couldn't possibly see her in any other light and she didn't want to see the disappointment flash across his face when she told him that he was bound to her for life.

"Well?" Molly brought Hermione's attention back on her. Hermione shook her head, not willing to spill who her mate was in front of them. Molly finally picked up that Hermione wasn't going to budge so she took it upon herself to force it out of the girl. "I hate to do this, but it has to be done. Girls?" She shouted over her shoulder and everyone turned to face the door that led into the kitchen from the sitting area.

In walked Fleur and Luna Lovegood.

Fleur instantly picked up on the smell and knew which twin was Hermione's mate so she walked behind George and let Luna walked on over behind Fred. If they wanted to force a rise out of Hermione, Luna would be the better candidate since Fleur was already taken.

"I hate to do this to you, Hermione, but I figured you'd be stubborn and wouldn't want to tell us so now we have to force it out of you." Hermione scrunched her eyebrows in confusion and Mrs. Weasley nodded at each girl.

Hermione turned her attention back to the twins and watched as each girl got closer to each boy. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance, but she didn't give off any indication as to who her annoyance was directed at since she glanced back and forth between each girl. Both Fleur and Luna placed a hand on either twin's shoulder and slowly let their hands fall down their chests in a intimate manner.

Hermione's anger flared as she watched Luna run her hand down Fred's chest but she couldn't move. She wanted to claim her mate and get Luna out of the way, but yet again, the potion she had drank was keeping her from attacking anyone.

With the anger finally getting the best of her, Hermione glared at Luna and a growl escaped from the back of her throat. "_Stop. Touching. Him_."

Luna immediately stepped back from Fred, a dreamy smile plastered on her face. Molly quickly ushered both ladies out of the kitchen and then quickly rushed back to Hermione's side.

She blushed a violent red as Fred cheekily grinned at her and George laughed from his side of the table.

"Well this has been fun." He continued laughing as he stood up from the table. "But I really have to be going now. I need to go ask out a certain witch on a date now that I know Hermione won't rip her head off."

Hermione scowled at George and with a wink thrown in Fred's direction, he disappeared with _POP!_

* * *

><p><strong>I know, I know. You had all already guessed that it was Fred but I still had to write it out this way.<strong>

**And now to the GOOD NEWS: I have finished writing out all the remaining chapters. All that needs to be done is last minute editing.**

**BAD NEWS: It's only 11 chapters.**

**I am horrible at trying to write a long fic. I hate dragging out chapters; it just doesn't feel right to me.**

**Anyway, I'll see you all in a couple of days ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello! I told you updates will be more frequent once I finished :) This chapter picks up right after the last one! I'm not really proud of this chapter, though =/**

* * *

><p>Fred sat a couple of chairs down from Hermione, a small grin adorning his lips. Hermione couldn't fight off the blush that had risen from the sides of her neck, up to her cheeks, and up to the roots of her hair.<p>

Fred Weasley, one half of the Weasley pranking twins, was her mate.

Hermione had just opened her mouth to speak when the door swung open yet again and Mrs. Weasley bustled into and around the kitchen. She pulled out two bottles of butterbeer and passed one each to Hermione and Fred. They each took the bottle that was offered to them and stared uneasily at her. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Mrs. Weasley beamed, her hands placed on her hips. "You two love birds drink up and get to talking." She quickly excused herself from the room and left the two of them alone again.

Hermione fiddled with the cap to her drink while Fred snapped his open and gulped down half of his beverage. Hermione eyed him from the corner of her eye and couldn't help but smile a little. When she saw that his attention was on her, she wiped the smile off and made sure to keep her face neutral.

"Hermione.."

"Fred.."

Both of them spoke at the same time and while Hermione continued to blush, Fred smirked. "You go first."

"Okay, well, um.." Hermione tried to piece together a useful sentence, but words seemed to be failing her.

Fred watched on as Hermione squirmed in her seat and she fidgeted with her bottle cap that she had finally managed to uncap. Her blush wasn't as bright as earlier but he suddenly found that he enjoyed watching her not be good at something. The know-it-all he knew growing up was no where in sight and in her place was a regular woman who was easily embarrassed and couldn't form a single sentence. She couldn't hide behind her facts now.

"How about we make Friday night out first date night?" Fred got straight to the point.

The sudden question caught Hermione off guard and her stumbling over words ceased. "What?" She squeaked.

"Friday night can be our first date night and we'll take things from there." Fred firmly stated, a smug smile taking over his features. "If I'm really your mate, there's no chance we can run away from each other so we might as well get together soon."

The second Fred finished his statement, Hermione deflated. The way Fred stated his sentence didn't quite sit right with her and any excited feelings she was feeling just moments before flew out the window and was replaced by guilt and sadness. "I have to go." She mumbled.

And before Fred knew what was happening, Hermione stood up from the table and apparated out of the kitchen.

**. . .**

**. . .**

When Hermione's feet touched solid ground, she found herself in the sitting room of Shell Cottage. She mentally cursed herself because she was aiming for her bedroom there since she knew Fred couldn't follow but she didn't want to raise questions from Fleur or Bill either if they found her in the sitting room.

She dropped herself in the nearest sofa chair and let her head fall into the palms of her hands. "I'm so stupid. Of course he feels obligated to date me now since he's my mate." She mumbled to herself. Silent tears started to fall down her face but she didn't dare wipe them away. She ought to be crying for her stupidity in thinking that a Weasley twin could find her attractive for just being herself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

An _oomph! _sounded next to Hermione and she instantly froze. "Mind telling me who or what is so stupid?" Hermione recognized the deep voice of Bill and, as discreetly as she could, she wiped the tears off her face and lifted her head. She knew that there was nothing she could do for the redness or puffy-ness of her eyes so she settled for directing her gaze away from him.

"I am." She confessed. Figuring that Bill knew too much for his own good to begin with, Hermione decided that laying the truth down would save them a lot of time. "Found out it's Fred that's my mate just now. At first I was excited but then he said that if he was really my mate, that we'd better get together soon. We can't run away from each other." Hermione sniffled. "He made it sound like he _has_ to date me. We're still young and being tied down at a young age isn't something he'd want. He kind of made it seem like I took his opportunities away from him."

Bill sat next to her, his arm now reaching out to her and wrapping her in a side-way hug. "Both of your opportunities did get taken away." Hermione sighed and Bill pulled her in closer to sit back next to him. "You won't find true happiness with anyone else and if Fred were to date someone else, you'd live in constant jealousy and eventually lash out at his girlfriend."

Hermione slumped her shoulders in defeat and faced him head on. "I know." Hermione groaned. "I guess part of me what just hoping to have what you and Fleur have."

"You can."

"No. We can't." Hermione's voice sounded more firm. "When you and Fleur got together, you got together because you were both attracted to one another and enjoyed each other's company. The both of you took the time to know each other. With Fred and I.." She paused, trying to make a way for Bill to see where she was coming from. "With Fred and I, we're being forced to be together just because he's my mate. We didn't get the chance to see if either of us was attracted to the other or any other fun things that new couples get to do. We got thrown into this and it's not fair to either of us."

Bill watched her the entire time as Hermione talked. The way her face lifted into a smile when she talked of Fleur and himself getting together to the way her face fell when she talked about not getting to experience any of it. He kind of felt bad for her but on the other hand he knew that everything she just talked about, she'd get to have. "He's your mate, Hermione." Bill offered her a warm smile. "The things you just explained about Fleur and I will be yours soon."

"You don't get it." Hermione shook her head, tears threatening to fill her eyes again. "I wanted someone to like me for me, not because I'm a Veela."

Bill looked at Hermione in disbelief. Could she really not know that his brother had a crush on her? Did she really think that people would only like her because of the part-Veela that resided inside of her? Even though he was married and marked by Fleur, he knew that Hermione was an attractive witch. "Hermione.."

"I'm going to sleep." Hermione cut him off. "Can you tell Fleur that I need to ask her some questions about my situation, please? Maybe tomorrow?"

"About that," Bill stood up to follow Hermione as she stood and started to walk out of the sitting room. "Fleur is in France at the moment with her sister. Family emergency." He shrugged. "She told me to stay back and help you through anything you needed since I know everything that she does."

"Brilliant." Hermione deadpanned. "I'll talk to you tomorrow then." She glanced out the window and watched as the stars twinkled down on her. She needed time to think about everything before she took it head on.

**. . .**

**. . .**

Hermione tossed and turned all night with thoughts of what she was going to ask Bill come morning. She thought of her life and how it seemed to have changed within a couple of weeks and couldn't help but cry when she thought of Fred. Sure Fred was handsome, as well as George since they were twins, but something about Fred comforted her. His smell attracted her to him, although if she were true with herself, she's had a crush on him for a while now. It also helped that his scent, to her, made him feel like home.

Yes, within those couple of minutes that she sat with Fred in the Burrow's kitchen; he felt like home.

Morning came far too quickly for her liking. She stared up at the white cracked ceiling and listened in to see when Bill woke up. The one good thing that she loved from her being part-Veela were that her senses were a whole lot sharper. Even though she was on the the the uppermost part of the cottage, she could hear the bed springs creak from Bill's room which was on the second floor. She could hear him moving around, doors opening and closing, water being turned on and off, and then finally Bill moving around in the kitchen.

Deciding that she should get up and help Bill prepare breakfast, Hermione threw back her covers and set out for the nearest bathroom. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and pulled back her wavy tresses into messy bun.

Making her way down the creaking staircase, Hermione found herself walking into the brightly lit kitchen and her eyes landing on one Bill Weasley who only wore pajama pants. Gasping, she quickly turned and covered her eyes, shielding Bill's naked chest from her eyes. "I'm sorry. I should have knocked!"

Bill chuckled and continued to cook the bacon and eggs that were currently sitting on the stove. "It's okay, Hermione. I did that on purpose so I could, uh, show you one of your Veela traits." Hermione slowly turned around to face him but kept her eyes pointed down at the floor. "And in case you haven't noticed, this is the kitchen. You don't have to knock."

"Do you need any help?" Hermione mumbled as she shuffled forward and stood near one of the kitchen chairs.

"Nope. Just sit down and start asking your questions. Might as well get them out of the way right now." Bill grinned as he continued to flip the bacon so it didn't burn.

Hermione plopped herself down in the chair she was just standing behind and sighed. "Okay, well, what was the trait that you wanted me to find out about just now?"

Hermione couldn't see but Bill smiled widely as he started to plate their food. "When you look at me, do you feel attracted to me?" He turned just in time to watch Hermione's jaw drop and her face turn beet red.

"Bill!"

"I'm being serious." He chuckled and slid her a plate of bacon and eggs. "And be honest."

"W-well if I'm b-being honest." She spluttered. "You are good-looking." Hermione quickly averted her eyes to the plate of food in front of her and picked up her fork, deciding if she wanted to eat or run from the kitchen.

"Good to know." Bill laughed. "Me being shirtless and asking that question actually had _nothing_ to do with what I wanted to show you about your traits. Ginny told me the other night that I was so ugly, no other female besides Fleur, would find me attractive. You just proved her theory wrong." He laughed even harder as Hermione's head shot up and she fiercely glared at him. "Dig in!"

Bill dug into his food with the usual Weasley appetite and Hermione gently picked at her food. She couldn't believe that Bill, hard-working curse breaker for Gringott's, just did that to her.

The silence continued on until Bill finished his plate of food and bugged Hermione until she ate at least half of her plate. When the food was all cleared, he magicked the dirty dishes to clean themselves while he talked to Hermione.

"Okay. Now the thing I really wanted you to know is how to check if someone has been marked. Veela's are very territorial over their mates and you don't wanna be caught talking to a marked mate when their partner comes along. Not everyone is controlled as Fleur." Hermione took in every word that Bill spoke to her and panicked. How the hell was she supposed to do that? At the look of confusion written all over her face, Bill explained further. "Since you're part Veela, everyone has a unique smell to you. Everyone. So when you try to sniff out someone's scent and you can't smell it, it's because they're, more than likely, someone's mate and their Veela has marked them already. Try to smell me."

Hermione could have laughed when Bill told her to smell him if her mind wasn't settled on being embarrassed from earlier still. She shook away that thought and closed her eyes, letting her sense of smell take over. Trying to pick out Bill's scent wasn't working. She could smell the leftover aroma of breakfast that they had just finished eating and a lot of the salty-ness from the sea outside but no scent that could be traced back to Bill. "I can't." She finally mumbled.

"Exactly." Bill smiled triumphantly. "When I was marked, everything about me is now protected by a shield of Fleur's. It's kind of weird, actually, and I don't know any other way to explain it."

"Okaayyyy.." Hermione drawled, not really knowing what else to say to that.

"Yeah, so now you can ask any questions you have."

"Well, I only have one." Hermione admitted, the blush fighting it's way back to her face. "When one is being marked.. does the marking ritual have to deal with anything.. sexual?"

Bill tried to keep his face neutral but the urge to laugh at Hermione's innocence was too overwhelming. He leaned back in his chair and let out a bark of laughter while the blush grew darker on Hermione. She couldn't believe that she just asked him that and was now wishing she had saved that question for when Fleur returned. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He quickly apologized. "It's just I didn't expect you to be so.. to look so innocent when it came to sex. I mean, you're Hermione Granger! You never get embarrassed about anything."

"Yeah, well, sex was never a topic I had questions about. Especially when I'm questioning a guy who was always around acting as an older brother." Hermione grumbled as she traced a pattern on the kitchen table with her index finger.

"Okay, well," Bill decided to let it go for now. Hermione asked a question that most people usually had the wrong impression of. "No. The marking ritual does not involve anything sexual. All it takes is a simple bite."

"Why a bite?"

"I don't really know." Bill scrunched his eyebrows in slight confusion. "Fleur once said that there's something in the Veela's saliva that gets mixed in with the bite and it runs through the veins of the mate; marking them. Or claiming them. However you want to look at it."

Hermione's eyes widened. "The bite has to break skin? That sounds painful!"

The panic look in her eyes forced Bill to throw aside all humor. "It's not, actually." He assured her. "The bite is actually, kind of, pleasant."

"So I just have to bite him and that's it?"

"He has to be willing to be marked. And there's also something you have to whisper above the place you bite before claiming him." Bill confirmed. "He can also bite you, if you wish, and establish a link between both of your minds. Fleur and I have it but it's quite frustrating." He admitted while rubbing the back of his neck; a sheepish almost uncomfortable look on his face. "Sometimes listening to your life partner all the time is not amusing and it's hard to avoid arguments."

Hermione chuckled as Bill told her that last bit. While sitting with Bill, she learned a couple of things while having breakfast with him.

One; Bill was not as serious as she thought he was.

Two; sensing a marked Veela. That bit would come in handy whenever she went out.

And three; marking her mate. Although she was attracted to Fred, she didn't think she could just jump in the sack with him. But if her jealousy streak remained the same whenever another female was around Fred, she was going to have to claim him soon.

Although the most amusing thing she had just learned was the link that could be established. She never heard anything like that before and was quite amused with the fact that it was something capable of doing. Having a ticket into Fred's mind would prove fascinating but he also had a choice in the matter.

Even though Hermione was currently avoiding Fred, she needed to deal with everything and have a talk with him soon. She needed to sort everything out and get on with her life. If Fred only liked her because of her Veela genes, well she'd deal with that when the time came.

In the mean time, dismissing Fred's idea of a date night on Friday suddenly seemed like a stupid idea.

* * *

><p><strong>See? This was kind of.. not so good but I had to get the "marking" question out of the way somehow.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hopefully this chapter makes up for the last one.**

* * *

><p>Five days had passed since Fred last saw Hermione. He had tried everything he could do to get to Hermione but since the protection wards were still up at Shell Cottage, there wasn't anything he could do. He even managed to get a hold of Bill but Bill wouldn't budge.<p>

"_Give her time." Bill had told him yesterday. "She'll come around soon."_

"Yeah. Soon." Fred snorted.

Fred was currently going over expenses for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He and George gave themselves the day off to finish off last minute paperwork before the month was over and George was currently out doing Merlin knows what.

Sighing and tossing the paperwork onto the small coffee table that sat in front of the sofa, Fred stood up and stretched, figuring he'd heat up some food that his Mum had sent over the night before.

Making his way into the kitchen, Fred opened the fridge and took out a container of roast beef and potatoes. Placing it on the kitchen table, he pointed his wand at the plate, mumbled a heating spell, and took a seat. Just as he was about to dive in, the flat door flew open and in barged George.

Quickly disposing of his jacket, George spotted Fred in the kitchen and strode over to keep him company. "You were right about Verity." He mumbled as he picked out a fork from a kitchen drawer and seated himself next to Fred at the table. "Just when I thought I had managed to corner her by herself, Lee shows up and she bats her eyelashes at him! She even did that whole muggle thing where she twirls her hair around her finger!" He stabbed a potato with his fork and shoved it in his mouth. "That little tart." He mumbled.

Fred was too amused by the fact that was correct about Verity that he didn't even mind when George started to eat his food.

"Have you heard from Hermione yet?" George managed to get out with a mouth full of food.

Fred rolled his eyes to where his brother couldn't see and shook his head. "Nope. Shell Cottage is still off limits and Bill won't help out." He finally decided to go ahead and eat before George finished it all. Cutting off a chunk of roast beef, he shoved it in his mouth and averted his gaze from his brother who was now staring at him.

"What are you going to do if she refuses to see you?"

"I-I don't know." Fred sadly mumbled. He shook his head and stuffed more food in his mouth but George wouldn't drop the subject.

"You can always move on." George shrugged. "But then you'll always have to keep looking over your shoulder and around every corner to make sure Hermione isn't there."

"What's going on with you?" Fred's voice cracked at the end as he tried changing the subject. "Any other witch you might wanna take a chance on?"

George had this far away look in his eye and his lips slowly formed a grin. "You know.." He started. "Hermione has to show up to Sunday lunch at Mum's sooner or later. We should switch places for the day, see how it goes." Fred groaned and stood up from the table, getting himself a drink from the fridge. "We should corner her at Mum's so she can't avoid you. Or me." He added as an afterthought. "She might be your Veela but it would be fun to mess with her for old time's sake."

Fred choked on his pumpkin juice and and stared wide-eyed at his twin. "You want to prank Hermione? A Veela?" George nodded. "She'll murder you! She'll murder us!" Fred panicked.

George laughed at his brother's expression and before he could comment back, an owl swooped in through an open window and landed on the counter. It was a beige colored owl with black speckles above it's eyes and sleek feathers.

This was the owl of their brother Bill.

The owl dropped the letter it was carrying from it's beak on the counter in front of Fred and hooted. Shrugging, Fred picked up and opened the envelope before looking around for something to feed the owl. "Hey, will you give Roman a chunk of potato for the flight, please?" He asked George.

George, who had the fork mid-way to his mouth with the remaining of the potatoes, glanced between his twin and the owl. The owl looked at him expectantly and deciding that he'd rather have the potatoes for himself, he shoved the fork in his mouth and swallowed. "Nope. Sorry. All gone." The owl flew over to him and pecked him on the forehead before flying back to Fred's side. "Ow! What was that all about?"

Fred chuckled and went to search for any owl treats that they might have had left over. After pulling out the fourth drawer, he found a container and held it out for Roman to pick out what he wanted.

"What's the note say?" George asked as he warily eyed Roman who stayed put after eating his treat. Owls never left if the owner was waiting for a reply so he guessed Bill wanted to know something.

Fred quickly scanned the note and was surprised to see that it wasn't his brother's messy handwriting but the writing of one Hermione Jean Granger.

_Fred,_

_I'm really sorry I have made no move to contact you in these past few days. I had some stuff I needed to figure out for myself and other things involving you but I can't figure it out if I continue to avoid you._

_I had a small discussion the other day with Bill since Fleur is not home at the moment and he told me some pretty interesting things about my genes. Yes, I know, Hermione-Know-It-All-Granger didn't know something. Don't be so shocked._

Fred grinned as he read that last part. She apparently knew him so well.

_This thing that I found out also involves you so we need to talk soon. _

_I got to thinking that maybe your Friday date night idea wasn't so bad after all. If you're still up for it, send your reply with Roman._

_Hermione._

"What does Bill want?"

"It's not Bill." Fred breathed, a smile starting to form on his lips. "It's Hermione." He quickly searched for a quill to write his reply. When none turned up, a quill flew at him from where George was sitting. Nodding his 'thanks', he quickly wrote his reply confirming that it if she really was up for it, they could go out this upcoming Friday. He placed the note back in the envelope, placed the envelope back in Roman's beak, and watched as the owl took flight again and disappeared from sight. "She's taking me up on my date night offer!"

**. . .**

**. . .**

Hermione had just finished reading Fred's reply when Bill walked into the sitting area. He watched as Hermione's small grin slowly formed into a full blown smile and Hermione had to resist the urge to squeal like a teenager.

He plopped down into the recliner that sat opposite of the sofa and raised an eyebrow in Hermione's direction. "What's got you needing new knickers?"

Hermione scowled at Bill's comment and chucked a sofa pillow at him. "Just so you'll leave me alone; it's Fred. He's agreed to a Friday date night."

"Really?" Bill mused. He was suddenly feeling very happy for her. "He's finally laid it all on the line and told you he's loved you since your Fifth year at Hogwarts?"

Hermione's smile instantly dropped, her heartbeat picking up it's pace, and her eyebrows rose towards her hairline. "W-what?"

Piecing the last few moments together and knowing that Fred had in fact _not_ told Hermione that, Bill groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Crap."

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

Hermione didn't know how to feel. One moment she was ecstatic that Fred might really have feelings for her but on the other hand, Bill could've just told her that to get her on speaking terms with Fred.

Friday had come insanely fast and Hermione found herself pacing in her bedroom at Shell Cottage. She had managed to persuade Fred to let her plan the first date and she found something that she was sure he'd never been to before. She also came up with this idea since she wanted the first date for them to be fun and somewhere where they could get to know each other better. It also did help that the place they were heading to called for an easy going outfit and nothing too fancy.

She stood in front of the body length mirror that was standing in the corner of the room and made sure her outfit was decent. Since they were doing something 'muggle', she had made sure to tell Fred to dress in muggle clothing as well.

Hermione paired her green and white converse sneakers with short blue-jean shorts and a plaid green and white button down shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail with a few short wavy tresses framing her face on each side. She kept her outfit very simple and didn't bother with any accessories. The only thing she carried with her was a beaded bag with an extendable charm on it so that she could carry her and Fred's wands within it.

Before she could forget, Hermione picked up the vial of the lilac colored potion that Bill had managed to brew for her and gulped it down. Gathering up her Gryffindor courage, she apparated out of her room and seconds later, she was standing at the foot of the steps that led up to the twins' flat. She slowly made her way up step by step and was slightly distracted by the fact that the none of the stairs creaked.

"_Focus, Hermione. Focus!" _She mentally scolded herself as she stopped outside the door. Lifting up her knuckles, she rapped on the door three times. She could hear noises moving about from the inside and a muffled _'oomph', _an _'ow!',_ and finally a _"Come in!" _being shouted from inside.

Slowly opening the door, she walked in and shut it firmly behind her. She expected Fred to walk up to her and greet her but instead the twins were both sitting on the sofa. One of them was grinning foolishly at her and the other was rubbing his arm and scowling at his brother.

"Hey." Hermione directed the greeting at both of them. "If you need more time to get ready, I can always come back later." She glanced back and forth between each twin and was wondering why no-one was getting up to greet her or anything.

An awkward silence ensued and finally one of them stood up. "No, it's fine. It's fine, love. Let me just grab something real quick." George was the one who spoke. He was grinning so sweetly and Hermione was confused as to why George stood up and not Fred. She was going on the date with Fred, not George. He passed by her and sure enough, the smell of apple cinnamon wafted off of him.

While George disappeared to one of the back rooms, she turned her gaze to Fred who was still sitting on the sofa rubbing his arm. When he caught Hermione's questioning gaze, he quickly averted his eyes to the floor. "What's going on?" She took a step towards Fred but stopped when George reappeared from the back.

"Ready to go now?"

"George, why are you trying to leave on this date with me?" She questioned. "This date is for Fred and I."

"That's harsh, love." George held his hand over his heart and feigned being hurt. "I am Fred. I thought you knew that!"

He look so determined that Hermione had to glance back and forth between the twins to make sure she didn't make a mistake. She discreetly sniffed the air and sure enough, her mate's smell was coming from the sofa like she thought. She turned her gaze to the real Fred and winked causing his scowl to disappear and he sat up a little straighter.

She turned back to George and walked towards him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was a bit confused there for a second." Now it was her turn to play.

"No worries." George smiled large, happy that his plan to fool Hermione was actually working.

The twins watched as Hermione sauntered up to George and gently cupped his cheek in the palm of her hand. "Forgive me?" She batted her eyelashes at him and could practically feel George's heart beat speed up. He was actually excited and partly afraid at the moment. He nodded and Hermione ran her fingers from the side of his face back to the nape of his neck, her fingers diving into his hair. She wove her fingers into the strands and waited until she had a handful before yanking his head back and making him bend at the knees with his back twisted awkwardly.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Stop it!" George whined. "That really hurts, dammit."

"Well it should." Hermione smirked at him give his hair another tug. "Stop trying to pretend to be Fred, you dimwit. I'm part Veela, remember. I can smell things."

When she felt that he suffered enough, she let him loose and was finally able to hear Fred's laughter from behind her. "I told you it was no use trying to fool her."

"Yeah, yeah." George grumbled. "It was worth a shot though." He stumbled away from Hermione and threw himself onto the now empty sofa.

Fred had made his way over to Hermione and gave her a sideways hug. "So where are we going on our first date?"

Hermione grinned up at him and put some space between them, looping her arm through his. "To a town Fair."

* * *

><p><strong>In case you've forgotten, the lilac colored potion that Hermione drinks is one that keeps her harmful Veela instincts in check so she won't get too "excited" by Fred or lash out at anyone who might stare too long at him ;)<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: You lot have made this author a very happy, happy lady :D Over 100 reviews! You are amazing :) Thank you so much for the support and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story as you have the beginning. Now, I know that Fairs work differently in different places so I went ahead and described how the Fair in my town works for this chapter.**

* * *

><p>Their feet met solid ground in what appeared to be someone's back yard. The fence surrounding the area was at least seven feet high and dark green vines covered every single inch of it so no-one could see inside. A small white table with an umbrella sticking out from a hole in the center stood near the back door with a single chair completing it. The grass was overgrown and in desperate need of cut.<p>

"Uh, where are we?" Fred muttered as he took in the scene before him.

"We," Hermione squeezed his arm and started to drag him towards a gate at the side of the house. "are in a muggle town by the name of Little Whinging. This is the backyard of Arabella Figg who Dumbledore once assigned to watch over Harry when he lived with the Dursley's. This place serves as a safe zone for apparition."

"Okayy.." Fred drawled. "So this is what a Fair looks like?"

"No." Hermione chuckled. She stopped before she opened the gate and turned to face him. "Do you know even know what a Fair looks like?" She questioned. At the shake of his head confirming that he didn't know, she explained for him. "A Fair is a place where there are muggle games and muggle carnival rides. There's arts and crafts you can participate in and later buy and there's loads and loads of greasy food and sugary sweets!"

At the mention of food and sweets, Fred's eyes lit up like a child's would when told they were going to the town Fair. "Let's go then!" He grabbed her hand without a second thought and pushed open the gate, dragging her along. "Lead the way, m'lady!"

Hermione giggled and squeezed his hand deciding that she'd better get used to it now rather than later. The smile on Fred's face never wavered and he couldn't keep his eyes on one thing for too long. He was from the magical community and even though he was an 'of age wizard', he hardly ever wandered into muggle territory.

They were walking down a sidewalk and Hermione knew they were getting closer by all the families who were also walking in the same direction as them. The children who lived in the town were all excited and tugging on their parent's hands as they tried to get them to walk faster.

Fred was no different. He seemed to have picked up his pace and Hermione noticed the excited bounce in his step. She was suddenly very grateful that Harry had mentioned Little Whinging held a Fair every year just a few blocks away from where he used to live. Of course he was never allowed to go but he always heard tales of it from Dudley when he would brag non-stop.

The sun had just set behind the hills and the stars were coming out to shine. The Fair was finally in view and Hermione was surprised that Fred hadn't ran full force towards it without her. She looked up to see him smiling broadly at all the screams and yells coming from the inside and his eyes twinkled with the lights that flashed on and off.

Hermione spotted an old Oak tree with it's branches hanging low and casting a dark shadow that could come in handy for a moment. She dragged Fred off to the other side of the street and when he whined in protest, she gripped his arm harder and picked up her pace. Once they were under the privacy that the Oak tree gave off, she turned to face Fred and opened up her beaded bag.

"Put your wand in here. We won't need them for the night."

Fred's hand instantly rested over the right pocket of his muggle jeans and his fingers traced the faint bulge of his wand. A wizard separated from their wand makes one very uneasy. "Um, can't I just keep it with me? I promise not to use magic unless it's an extreme emergency." He pleaded.

"Sorry." Hermione grimaced. "If we get on any rides, there's a possibility it might fall out of your pocket and I won't be held responsible if you lose it."

"Yeah, but.." Fred cut off trying to think of an excuse. "You can just _accio _it when no-one's looking! Can't you?"

Hermione shook her head, a small smile adorning her lips. "Drop it in." She shook the bag in front of him.

"Fine."

He dropped his wand into the beaded bag and watched as Hermione sealed the bag and tied it to her wrist, an invisibility charm placed upon it. With everything put away, Hermione took Fred's arm and led him towards the screams and laughter and blinking lights. "Now when we get to the main gate, let me do all the talking. Everything here is purchased with muggle money so I'll get the wristbands and tickets."

Fred was too excited that he didn't appear to have heard a single word Hermione said. Although she was grateful that when they had managed to make it to the main gate, Fred was too distracted to ask her questions about anything. Once Hermione paid for their wristbands and bought loads of tickets for the food, she escorted Fred to the side and tied a wristband around his wrist.

As Fred studied his wristband, Hermione tied hers on and explained it to him. "The wristband lets you get on any ride you want, as many times as you want, and also lets you into any Fun House of your liking." Fred beamed at her explanation and pointed at the tickets she was holding in her hand. "These," She lifted up the tickets and quickly tucked them away into her beaded bag when no-one was looking. "will purchase our food for us when we decide to eat."

"Brilliant!" He breathed.

Hermione figured that she'd start Fred off on something small since he had never been to a muggle Fair before. She tugged him along towards the Crazy Apples and waited in line until it was their turn to be seated. The Crazy Apples were pretty much as the name described them. Crazy. You were seated inside the apple with a wheel in front of you and as the set of apples spun in a giant circle, you turned your own personal wheel and spun your own apple as fast as you wanted. It was a kid ride which Fred picked up on quickly and he frowned over at Hermione.

"Really? You like this ride?" He questioned her. "You're Hermione Granger for Merlin's sake. I'd figure you like something big and scary, not something so tame." Hermione didn't bother to assure him about the ride; she'd let the ride speak for itself. The ride operator stood before Hermione and Fred checking for wristbands and then led the two of them to an empty apple. They sat in the privacy of their apple and Fred winked at Hermione. "If you wanted me alone in the dark, we didn't have to go on a date for that." He cheekily grinned at her.

"Joke all you want now." The whole ride started up and they could feel themselves slowly starting to turn in a giant circle. "We'll see how much you're joking when this is over."

Hermione gripped her side of the wheel and started to turn it with slight difficulty. Grinning to himself, Fred gripped his side and started to help her turn it as well. Their personal apple started to spin faster and faster and soon, Hermione found herself giggling and Fred laughing. The apple spun faster and faster and Fred suddenly found that his stomach didn't quite like it anymore. "Do you think we should slow it down a bit?" He shouted over the swirling noise and when all Hermione did was raise a challenging eyebrow, he grew scared.

The ride soon ended and Hermione stepped out on wobbly legs, giggling like a school girl while Fred stumbled out holding his stomach; his face a light shade of green. When Hermione caught sight of him, she couldn't help but laugh harder.

"Still think that was so tame?" Hermione smirked as she watched Fred cover his mouth and shake his head 'no'. "Good. Now lets walk around for a bit and explore while your stomach calms down."

She gripped him by the wrist and led him outside of the low fence that surrounded the ride they just got off of. They quickly found themselves surrounded by crowds of families so she stood directly in front of Fred and placed his hands on her shoulders. He didn't question her since he was uneasy around this many muggles and let Hermione lead him wherever she wanted to.

The crowds thinned out near the back where the games were held and Hermione took that opportunity to stand next to him instead of in front.

Game vendors called out to anyone and everyone in hopes that they'd attract a player but Hermione wouldn't let Fred stop to play one. She knew that all Fair games were rigged and she didn't want to see a disappointed Fred when he kept losing. They passed up all the yelling vendors who shouted at Fred, _"Come on, win your pretty lady a bear!", _but all Hermione did was giggle when Fred went red in the face as all the muggles within hearing distance stared in their direction.

She kindly denied all the offers and kept them walking towards the arts and crafts section. She showed him all the muggle paintings and sculptures and even bought him a strange looking clown puppet on strings. He thought it was very creepy looking but when he thought of all the great pranks he could pull over his other brothers and sister when they got back home, he quickly warmed up to it. They walked behind a tent and Hermione stuffed the puppet in her beaded bag and then joined Fred who was staring longingly at the rides.

"Ready to try another one?" She joined him by his side and glanced up at him. He nodded his head and for the first time that night, he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to a ride of his choosing.

On the outside, Hermione sheepishly smiled and followed Fred but on the inside, she was jumping up and down. With Fred's hand resting on her left hip, everything felt right. It felt good. She didn't know where he was going but she soon found herself standing in line for a ride called The Fireball. Hermione gulped as she stared up at the swinging, multicolored blinking ride. It was basically a claw that held six different benches and formed a circle facing inward. Each bench sat four people and swung like a pendulum from a thick rod. Left to right it swung higher and higher until you were upside down and then slowed down until it stopped again.

She had hated this ride but she couldn't find her voice to tell him as he stared up at it in awe. His thumb, unconsciously, rubbed her hip up and down where her shirt had slightly lifted and Hermione found herself relaxing. She leaned into his side and let that sensation take over instead of worrying over the ride she was about to get on. She felt so comforted by the small act that an approving purr erupted from within her chest. She instantly tensed after the purr sounded and prayed that Fred didn't hear it. Whether he heard it or not, he didn't show it.

They were quickly seated and strapped in for their safety. The ride started to swing and Hermione instantly gripped her safety bars for dear life. Fred shouted and laughed next to her but she couldn't see him since she had shut her eyes tight.

When the ride ended, Fred was so pumped up on excitement that he immediately led her to ride after ride. They had managed to ride all the adult rides and even managed to ride The Fireball, Tilt-a-Whirl, The Zipper, The Tango, and Techno Power twice.

The moon was high in the sky now and all traces of kids with their parents were long gone. Only adults, couples, and groups of teenagers remained to enjoy the night of festivities. Since all their laughter and running from ride to ride worked up an appetite for them, Hermione decided that they'd end the night trying all sorts of different foods. When she mentioned it was time to eat, she noticed that Fred's face lit up like it always did when food was mentioned.

Hermione bought them deep fried corn dogs, spicy chicken pieces on a stick, and a plate of cheese fries to share. Fred took a bite of his corn dog and moaned in appreciation. He bit into a piece of chicken and grinned but when the spice settled at the back of his throat, his eyes teared up and Hermione laughed.

"Sorry! I forgot drinks." She apologized as Fred fanned his mouth. She left the table they were sharing and bought two lemonades then returned to where Fred sat. He gulped down half his drink and sighed in relief.

"No worries." He didn't say anything else as he picked up two fries covered in nacho cheese and popped them in his mouth. His eyes went wide and he moaned yet again. "Messy, these things, but brilliant!" He concluded as he ate more of the fries.

They sat in silence as they finished off their food and took turns telling each other the ride they favored the most. Hermione decided that the Techno Power was her favorite ride while Fred just smiled and said he loved everything.

Hermione had just remembered that she needed to speak with Fred about the marking ritual and if he really had liked since her Fifth year when a group of giggling teenagers caught her attention. There were five girls walking behind Fred and giggling behind their hands as they took turns glancing at him. Her eyes narrowed in their direction as the girls drew closer to their table and Fred turned his head to see what she was staring at. As soon as he turned to his right, the girls passed their table and Hermione clenched her jaw. Fred shrugged it off and smiled at Hermione, letting her know she had nothing to worry about.

Hermione knew that the potion she had drank earlier in the day would prevent her from lashing out at the group of girls but it didn't stop her from getting angry or annoyed. She figured the girls sat at the table behind hers and Fred's since she could still hear the giggling and her anger continued to rise. She gripped the chair she was sitting in and when she looked at Fred, she knew something was wrong when she saw the look of panic run across his features.

Fred was just starting to get a kick out of Hermione's jealous inner Veela when he saw her eyes start to change. They glowed a golden honey color and then the blinking lights of the Fair gave off just enough light to see her eyes slowly fade into pure black. Not thinking about what he was doing, he leaned across the table and gripped the back of Hermione's neck, smashing his lips to hers. He didn't want to deepen the kiss; afraid that she'd push him away in anger, but when he felt her lips mould to his, he took the chance of swiping his tongue across her bottom lip.

Hermione had let herself fall into the sensation of the kiss but when she felt something swipe at her bottom lip, everything came back to her and she remembered they were in public. Quickly pulling out of the kiss, she stared at Fred with her eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"I-I'm sorry." He stammered. "Your eyes started to changed and I figured I'd calm you down and show those girls that I wasn't interested in them. What is it the muggles say; two birds with one stone?" He finished. Hermione wasn't angry but she thought that Fred trying to assure her that he meant no harm was kind of cute. She could still feel her lips tingling from his kiss and she smiled at him to let him know it was okay. "So now that the awkward first kiss is out of the way," He joked just to break any tension that might have been between them. "Can we get some candy now? I've been eying that glossy red thing on a stick since we've arrived."

Giggling girls forgotten, the two of them headed off in the direction of the nearest vendor who sold Candy Apples. After Fred's brief explanation of what they looked like, she had finally figured out what he was talking about.

Since she was still quite full from their dinner, she only bought one candy apple and passed it to Fred. He sniffed it and smiled, the sweet scent of apples and the hard sugary coat filling his senses. He opened his mouth to bite into it but he didn't expect it to be so hard. "Bloody hell!" He grimaced and touched his teeth to make sure they were still there. "Apples aren't supposed to be that hard!"

Hermione laughed at him and took the candy apple from him, spinning it until she found a spot she liked and bit into it. He watched her as she chewed it and took the apple back, biting into a part where the hard candy cracked so it was easier for him. "Mmm. Now this is delicious." He mumbled around bits and pieces of apple. "These muggles know how to make some brilliant candy."

By the time Fred had finished his third candy apple, they decided to call it a night. With one last look at the blinking lights and moving rides, Fred wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulder and walked back in the direction of Arabella's house. "Oh, I almost forgot!" He suddenly spoke. "You wanted to talk about some stuff you learned from Bill, remember?"

"Oh. Yeah. That can wait until another time though. That's more personal and I rather talk about it in the comfort of a home and not walking down a street."

"Okay." Fred agreed.

"Although," She removed herself from Fred's side and started to walk backwards in front of him. She figured she'd get this out of the way as soon as she could. The truthfulness of his answer would determine how she went about the future dates with him. "Exactly how long have you had feelings for me?" She grinned.

Fred tripped over his own two feet and Hermione had to catch him from falling. "W-what?" Hermione repeated her question and she was highly amused that she caused him to stumble over himself. Weasley men were never embarrassed by females. "What did George tell you?"

"George?" Hermione's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "I was going off by what Bill let slip, not George." She admitted. "But if George knows something, I just might have to ask him since he appears to know as well."

Hermione turned as if she was getting ready to run when Fred caught her by the wrist. "Your Fifth year." He blurted. "When George and I tortured Umbridge with the fireworks, you actually approved of something we did. Something _I_ did." He sheepishly rubbed the back of neck and decided to tell her everything. "Growing up, you were always known as Ron's best friend. But when the Yule Ball rolled around, you showed everyone that you weren't only a Know-It-All bookworm. You were a sexy Know-It-All bookworm." He grinned. Hermione took a step forward and Fred slipped his hand down from her wrist to her hand, weaving their fingers together. "After that, I was a goner."

Hermione could tell that he was telling the truth by the steady beat of his heart and the fact that she could sense it within him. She walked closer until her chest was pressed up against his and stood up on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Thank you." She whispered. She stepped back putting some distance between them and smiled as she saw Fred's face morph into pure happiness. Hermione had kissed him. She took the chance and made a move. "Since you were being honest, I guess I'll be honest now." She moved herself to stand next to him and she continued their walk to the apparition point in Arabella's backyard. "The whole reason I avoided you was because I've been attracted to you for a couple of years now. When I found out that you were my mate, I thought that you only started to like me because of my Veela genes. I didn't want to force you into anything you didn't want." Fred made a move to comment but Hermione shushed him. "But now that I have a hint as to what you really want, I'm all in. No more hiding."

* * *

><p><strong>Well this came out longer than I intended but I hope it was decent enough. How was that for a first date? All the Fair rides mentioned in this can be googled or even YouTube'd if you want to see what they look like and how they operate. Sorry I didn't explain it all in this chapter.<strong>

**Oh and before I forget, if any of you have a tumblr account, follow me: **hogwarts-secret-keeper .tumblr .com **I reblog a bunch of Harry Potter pics/gifs and post information about upcoming projects I'm writing :) Also, some of you ask me questions in reviews and I can't answer since you don't have a FF account. On tumblr, you don't need an account to ask questions and I can answer them easily :) **

_**(I think)**_


	8. Chapter 8

The following day, Hermione found herself relaxed and enjoying a mug of tea in the kitchen area of Shell Cottage. Her thoughts were occupied by memories from the previous night of her date with Fred and she couldn't be happier. She didn't know what to expect from the date but after what happened, she couldn't ask for anything more.

Fred had feelings for her that were real and she had nothing to worry about.

Now, the next thing she had to tackle was convincing Bill to let her back into her flat. She was grateful for Fleur and Bill taking her in but she really wanted to sleep in her bed, bathe in her own bathroom, and eat in her own kitchen.

She could hear footsteps coming down the stairs and waited for Bill to make his appearance in the kitchen. He soon walked in, pulling a t-shirt down over his head and fell sleepily into a chair across from Hermione. "Morning."

Hermione giggled. "Morning? It's nearing 3PM." She took a sip of her tea and placed it down in front of her.

"Oh. Well.. afternoon." Bill yawned. "How'd the date go?"

Hermione took a moment to think about what to say without telling him everything. "Better than expected." She smirked triumphantly when Bill continued to stare at her and waited for more information. "And that's all I'm telling you."

"What? That's it?" Bill perked up. "That's nothing to go on! Come on, Hermione, give me the juicy details!" He whined.

"You're worse than Ginny was back in school." Hermione told him. "You're a grown man, Bill, and I will not spill anymore details. If you want gossip, you'll have to ask Fred."

"You're no fun." He fake pouted. He leaned back in his chair with his hands clasped behind his head. "So does this mean you're not going to avoid him anymore? I can finally take down the protection wards and everyone can visit again?"

"Yes." She confirmed. "Although you could have always had visitors. You were just meant to keep out Fred and George, no-one else." Hermione told him.

Bill shrugged and smiled sadly at her. "Does this also mean you'll be moving back into your flat? The main reason why we isolated you was because we didn't want the twins bothering you. Now that you're not avoiding Fred, you're free."

"I'm sorry." She offered him a small smile. "But yes, I will be leaving. I actually thought I'd have to persuade you that I was fine to move back but I guess I can go whenever I want now."

"Yeah. It's just going to be so weird without you in the house." Bill sighed and closed his eyes. "It was nice to actually have company in the house other than Fleur and myself. We'll be sad to see you go."

Hermione stood up from her chair, walked around the table, and gave Bill a hug. "I'll miss the both of you as well but speaking of Fleur, when will she be returning?"

"Tonight." Both of them let go of the other and Hermione took a seat next to him. "She also told me to tell you that she wants to know how your date went with Fred and she has a whole batch of your potion ready for you when she returns. She kind of figured you wanted to get out of here soon so she stocked you up on the potion for when you leave here."

"Thank you." Hermione smiled. After a couple moments of silence and Hermione replaying what Bill just said over in her head, she swatted his shoulder and laughed. "You told her I went on a date?"

"I couldn't help it." He laughed. "Remember.. I'm worse than Ginny!"

**. . .**

**. . .**

Hermione had decided to spend a few more hours with Bill before she left and ended up telling him about her date. He listened to every detail she told him and even told her that he was jealous because Fred got to experience something that sounded like so much fun. Fleur had even showed up earlier than expected and got to listen to the details that Hermione was giving out.

Hermione was surprised to see Fleur, who everyone thought to be sophisticated and mature, giggle and _'awww'_ when Hermione spoke of the kiss. Turned out that Fleur has a very soft spot for love.

When it came time for Hermione to leave, Fleur had shed a few tears before giving Hermione her own personal stock of her Veela calming potion and told her that if she needed any more, she shouldn't be afraid to ask. After a few more hugs and tears, from Fleur's part, Hermione told Bill if he could have Molly send Crookshanks back to her flat before flooing away.

When Hermione stumbled into her living room, she threw her trunk aside and flopped down, face first, into her sofa. A cloud of dust swirled all around her causing her to cough multiple times. She quickly rolled off and landed on her back staring up at the ceiling. As she let her eyes wander around everything in her sitting area, she noticed that almost everything was covered in dust.

Groaning and pushing herself up from the floor, Hermione decided that it would be nice to clean up real quick and then spend the rest of her time soaking in a bath. She yanked out her wand from her jean pocket and pointed it in every nook and cranny, casting spells to remove all the dust. She then quickly casted spells on all the other larger objects in the room and rid them of dust as well. She walked over to the nearest window and threw it open, letting a fresh breeze float about the room.

After checking the first floor of her flat to make sure everything was clean, she headed for the second level and cast the same cleaning spell up there.

Gathering up a set of comfortable pajama shorts and an old Quidditch jersey that she had took from Ginny a while back, she headed into her bathroom and sighed in contentment.

Hermione plugged up her bathtub that she hadn't been able to use in weeks and turned the water on. As the tub filled with water, she poured in a relaxation remedy that she once stumbled across in Diagon Alley.

When the tub was full enough, she turned off the water, stripped off her clothes and finally submerged herself into the hot water. She sat with her back against the end of the tub and then sank down until only her head was above water. She laid her head back and closed her eyes for a few moments, relishing the feel of hot water and the the relaxation remedy soaking into her skin.

Hermione didn't know how long she was sitting there but when she felt that her fingers and toes were all pruned, she dragged herself out of the tub and dressed slowly, towel dried her hair, and finally tied it up in a messy bun. She cleaned up after herself in the bathroom and set off for her sitting area.

Throwing herself onto the sofa again, with no dust suffocating her, she curled up with a smile on her face and closed her eyes. With the relaxation remedy still infused in her skin, the only thing she was worried about at the moment was falling asleep.

The floo network chime in her house went off and without opening her eyes, she turned to face the fireplace. Green flames erupted out of nowhere and Ron stepped out carrying Crookshanks.

"Bloody cat still hates me." He grumbled as Crookshanks jumped from his newly scratched arms and sprinted to hide behind Hermione's back. Ron walked forward away from the fireplace and sat on an empty sofa chair. "So you're finally back, huh?"

"Yes." Hermione answered. She sat up, curling her legs beneath her and bringing Crookshanks to rest in her lap. "How've you been? The last time I saw you was at my birthday dinner and you weren't exactly happy that day. Is everything okay with you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Everything is okay. Great, actually." Ron grinned as he leaned back and rested his right foot on top of his left knee. "Sorry about my mood that day by the way. Had a fight with Romilda before I left and I guess I just felt guilty about it through the party."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Hermione offered him a smile. "I'm guessing all that is figured out by now?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it is." A smile so big suddenly overcame his features and Hermione stared at him in wonder. "She was very emotional that day and had something important to tell me but I was too busy getting ready for the party and she didn't like it very much that I was ignoring her."

"Oh, she must hate me!" Hermione groaned. "I'm really sorry. Should I go apologize to her?"

"No. No." Ron assured her. "Like I said, everything is fine now. And, uh, there's some news I want to share with you but you can't say anything because I haven't even told Mum or Harry or anyone else yet." His face turned serious and Hermione got nervous. She sat up straighter and pushed Crookshanks from her lap to the floor.

"What's happened?"

The serious expression that Ron had just put up suddenly disappeared and a goofy grin took it's place. "I'm going to be a Dad."

"Oh my.. that's amazing!" Hermione squealed. She shot up from her seat and fell towards Ron, wrapping him up in a hug. "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah. Romilda didn't want to tell anyone yet but she felt horrible for having me grumpy at your party that she said I could let you in on everything." Ron hugged back. "She said she was sorry for putting me in a sour mood."

Hermione was so excited for her friend she didn't care for anything else at the moment. She sat back on the sofa and couldn't think of anything else to say. Her best friend, ex-boyfriend, the boy that had been through everything with her was going to be a Dad. Everything was wonderful.

After the excitement had died down and the silence became too much, Ron spoke up. "So how are things going on with you and Fred?"

"You know about that, do you?" Ron chuckled, nodding his head, confirming her question and Hermione grew nervous.

"I'm fine with it if that's what you're worried about."

"No. It's not that. Well, not exactly." Hermione fumbled. It wasn't that she was afraid of what Ron would do, because Ron was happy with Romilda, but Hermione thought that things might be slightly awkward since she was going to be with his brother now. "It's just that, well, you and I dated before and now I'm with Fred.." She trailed off.

"Listen, Hermione," Ron leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "You're my best friend. You and I tried things out long ago and it didn't work. Even if we had decided to keep trying, none of it would have mattered because you were always destined for Fred. Am I angry that you dating my brother? No." He told her. "Am I shocked that it's Fred? Well, yeah. I figured it would have been someone like Percy." He joked. "You know, smarts go good with smarts." Hermione smiled at his little speech. She really had nothing to worry about. No awkwardness would come from her being with Fred whenever they showed up to the Burrow together for family dinners. "As long as Fred treats you right, Harry and I won't have to kick his arse. It's all good."

"Thank you for saying that." Hermione had happy tears in her eyes but she wouldn't let them fall. Everything and everyone was in a good place and she couldn't have asked for anything more. She, once again, stood up from the sofa and walked forward to give Ron another hug. "And tell Romilda if she really wants to make it up to me for putting you in a sour mood on the most important night of my life," Hermione muttered next to his ear. "Tell her I want to be Godmother."

"Okay." Ron chuckled.

**. . .**

**. . .**

Fred had just poured himself a bowl of Lucky Charms when George joined him in the kitchen. One thing that he did enjoy about muggles was the food that they deemed breakfast material. How could muggles claim that Lucky Charms were a breakfast cereal when it had tiny marshmallows in it? He didn't know and he couldn't care less so that's why he was eating cereal this late in the day.

The milk finished pouring itself and Fred dove right in.

"How was your date with Hermione?" George asked straight off the bat. Fred, who had a mouthful of cereal, had no hope of answering so he just winked at his brother. "Really? That good? I didn't think Hermione was the girl who would do that on the first date."

Roughly swallowing his cereal, Fred coughed and threw his spoon at his twin. "No! Not that kind of wink, you prat. It was a good wink! A great wink."

"Okay, okay." George held his hands up in surrender. "So everything is good between you two now? No more hiding?"

"Nope. We figured out some stuff and we're good." Fred smiled at his twin. "And for your information, muggle Fairs are amazing. I'm going to have to introduce you to it next year."

"I'll hold you to that, brother." He tossed the spoon back at Fred and watched him continue to eat his cereal.

A few moments later after Fred finished his cereal, he was slowly clearing away his bowl and the box of cereal when he saw George walking towards the cabinets that held the plates. He smiled inwardly as and stood back against the counters waiting to see his brother's reaction.

"_Ahhhh!"_ George had actually screamed out loud which caused Fred to roar with laughter. The most he was hoping for was a jumping reaction but he got a yell and a jump. "What the bloody hell is that thing?" He pointed into the cabinets where Fred had managed to hang up the clown puppet that Hermione had bought him from the Fair.

"It's a puppet." Fred wheezed out in between laughs. "Muggle toy that just sits on strings and you manipulate him to move by the wooden cross thingy."

"And they think this thing is cute?" George stepped back up to the cabinets and pulled the puppet down. "This thing is really creepy looking."

"Yeah. That's what I thought too but.."

"But it's good pranking or scaring material." George finished for him. "Brilliant." He breathed out. George continued to study the puppet, a wicked smile lighting up his face. He lifted the puppet up next to his face and faced Fred. "Let's scare Ginny!"

* * *

><p><strong>I hate filler chapters but I figured I needed to tell you all why Ron was grumpy in the beginning. If you thought it was going to be worse, sorry! I like drama-free happy stuff so that's what I stick with.<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

Days passed with no signs of problems for Hermione or Fred. Hermione was able to finally return back to work and Fred was able to sleep comfortable at night knowing that Hermione was no longer hiding from him and he could see her whenever he wished.

Sunday, Hermione had showed up at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and caught up with both Fred and George. Fred, of course, greeted her with a kiss and George whined that if it weren't for her keen sense of smell, he'd had gotten to enjoy the Fair and not Fred. They shared a laugh before going up to the flat and enjoyed a dinner that they sent George to pick up from the Three Broomsticks.

Monday and Tuesday, Hermione spent most of her time at Flourish and Blotts and catching up on any work that her co-workers were behind on and putting back books that were in the wrong place.

Wednesday had Fred showing up at Hermione's work and he spent half of his day just watching her in her element. The female co-workers cornered Hermione whenever they could and got her to spill on the details between herself and Fred. They _oohh'd _and _ahh'd _when Hermione told them everything that had went on since before she went back to work and she occasionally found Fred winking at her when she'd pass by him.

Thursday, Fred surprised Hermione by stopping by at her flat when she got off of work. Since they had both spent the passed couple of days getting into a comfortable routine, they were both tired and just sat together on the sofa in her sitting area and relaxed in the silence. Every now and then, they'd ask each other a question to get to know each other better. And towards the end of the night, they made plans for Friday night.

It was Fred's turn to plan the date and he settled on something easy, yet comfortable as well. The two of them would be having dinner and then watch a muggle movie so the appropriate attire would be easy going and not uncomfortable.

**. . .**

**. . .**

Hermione had just finished serving Crookshanks his food when there was a knock at her flat door. She walked over to the door and let it swing open only to have Fred standing there on the other side.

"Fred? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked as she checked the time from the clock that hung above the fire place. She noticed he was two hours earlier than they had planned their date for.

If Fred was giving Hermione an answer, she wasn't hearing it. Within a split second, her heart beat sped up, her blood pumped furiously, and her body was itching to get as close as possible to Fred. Her eyelids drooped and she found herself drifting towards Fred who had finally stopped talking and raised a curious eyebrow at her.

"Hermione? What's going on?"

Hermione reached out, her fingers crawling up along his stomach and grabbed ahold of his skinny tie, slowly wrapping it around her hand and pulling him towards her. Fred, who should've known better but didn't, let Hermione pull him down into a breathtaking kiss. Her lips moulded easy to his and every once in a while, her teeth would nip at his bottom lip. Fred let his arms circle around Hermione's waist as her hands finally found their way to the nape of his neck. They stood in the open doorway, tongues finally finding their way into the other's mouth when a passing by group of men wolf whistled at them.

Fred spun around to glare at the men who caused the interruption and Hermione clasped her hand over her mouth. All the excitement from seeing Fred had clicked in and her eyes widened.

She hadn't yet taken the potion that stomped down her Veela urges.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Hermione stumbled backwards and ran upstairs towards her bedroom leaving a dumbfounded Fred standing right where she had found him.

Fred watched as Hermione disappeared upstairs and let himself in, shutting the door behind him. A few moments later, footsteps rushed back downstairs and Hermione stood before him with her face the shade of Weasley hair.

"Um, hi." She bashfully greeted.

"Hi." Fred laughed. "Care to explain why you're sorry?"

Hermione groaned and hid her face behind her hands while Fred chuckled at her and led them to sit on the sofa. Once they were comfortable, Hermione spoke. "I hadn't take my potion yet and you showed up earlier than I had expected." She confessed. "My Veela instincts go crazy when I see you."

"Really?" Fred rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. "That's good to know."

Hermione glanced a look at Fred and saw that he was only joking around with her. He winked and she withdrew her hands from her face, playfully swatting his shoulder. "Funny." She smiled. "Now what are you doing here two hours early?"

"Oh. Right. About that." Fred had finally remembered why he was there. "Mum wants us at the Burrow for a quick family meeting. She said someone had an announcement to make so I came to get you. After the announcement, we can go ahead and get our date started."

Hermione nodded. "Sounds good to me."

With one last look around her flat, Hermione made sure everything was put away and turned off before she took Fred's arm and let him apparate them to the Burrow.

**. . .**

**. . .**

Everyone was already at the Burrow by the time Hermione and Fred walked through the kitchen door. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley nodded their 'hello' to the couple as they walked in, as did Fleur and Bill who were seated next to them. Harry, Ginny, and George were seated on the side of the table that was closest to Fred and Hermione so they all turned around and hugged Hermione while they all gave Fred a pat on the back as their greeting.

"What are we all here for?" Hermione asked as she saw everyone just sitting around the table; no-one talking.

Ron chose that moment to walk through the back door of the kitchen, hand-in-hand with Romilda. They smiled at everyone before they took a seat at the head of the table; all eyes directed at them.

"So?" Ginny spoke before anyone else could. "What's this announcement about?"

Hermione looked on as Ron and Romilda grinned at one another and then looked out at the rest of the family. Romilda and Ron both caught Hermione's eyes and their grins grew into a full blown smile.

"Please tell me you've finally set a date for the wedding?" Ginny complained. "You two have been engaged for ages and I'd like to have my sister-in-law now." She finished off with a giggle.

Ron, nor Romilda spoke, but Hermione had finally figured out what they were about to tell everyone. She was the only one in the room who knew and she was quite excited to see everyone's reactions. She schooled her facial features in a blank expression and let her senses take over. So far, everyone in the room was giving off an agitated vibe since no announcement was being made but Hermione was getting excitement and happiness from the expecting couple.

"Not exactly." The tips of Ron's ears turned bright pink.

"Well then what could it be?" Bill urged.

Ron shared a look with Romilda before telling everyone. "I'm going to be a Dad!" He eagerly shouted.

There was a shocked silence before the room exploded with congratulations.

"Congrats, little brother!" Bill shouted over all the commotion.

"Alright! Go Ronnie-kins!" The twins sounded in unison.

Ginny squealed and shot up from her seat, shuffling to the head of the table and wrapped Romilda in a hug. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Grandbaby! I'm getting a grandbaby!" Mrs. Weasley cried tears of joy, her head resting on her husband's shoulder.

**. . .**

**. . .**

It was nearing 8PM when Fred and Hermione were finally able to leave the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley tried keeping them there longer, but once word of their Friday date night got out- thanks to George- Mrs. Weasley practically pushed them out the front door.

Hermione found herself in the middle of Fred and George's sitting area. She had thought that they'd be going out for their dinner and a movie date but it turned out that one of Fred's hidden talents was that he knew how to cook!

Fred put away their coats and the beaded bag that Hermione used for everything and escorted her into the kitchen. The kitchen area was dimly lit; a few candles that were lit in the middle of the table and others lining the countertops giving off the only source of light. Two plates of covered food were sitting opposite each other and Hermione turned to look at Fred.

"Gotta love magic." He whispered to her. "I made the food earlier and had them sitting under heating spells."

Hermione only smiled at him and let him seat her in an empty chair. When Fred quickly took his seat, he gestured for her to go ahead and start to eat.

Slowly opening the lid off of her plate, Hermione couldn't help but giggle at what was beneath. "Burger and fries, Fred? Really?"

Fred had already uncovered his plate and popped a fry into his mouth. "Really, really." He grinned. He watched as Hermione smiled at him and started to eat her fries as well. "You'd be surprised at how hard it is to peel potatoes. I almost sliced my finger!"

"That's what wands are for." Hermione chuckled after she swallowed a bite from her hamburger.

The two ate their dinner in comfort, Fred internally jumping up and down that Hermione had actually liked the food he made. It was nothing fancy, but it homey. Although they were still getting to know each other, he didn't think Hermione was one who liked fancy things and a burger and fries seemed perfect.

And apparently it was.

After everything was clean and put away in the kitchen, Fred led Hermione back into the sitting area, where once again, the only light in the room was that given off came from more lit candles. Fred confessed that as soon as Hermione had entered the kitchen, he lifted the glamor charm from the sitting area so she didn't see anything. He created a warm environment with the lit candles placed all around the room and the muggle TV was set directly in front of the only sofa occupying the room.

Hermione walked around to the front of the sofa and Fred took a seat next to her.

"Now before we move onto the movie part of our date," Fred spoke directly to her. "I believe you wanted to talk about some things first."

"Mhm." Hermione hummed as she took in the muggle DVD player hooked up to the TV and a couple of muggle movies laying next to it. "But wait- How did you get a DVD player and movies? I didn't know you knew how to work these things." She raised an amused eyebrow at him.

"I- uh. I don't." Fred sheepishly admitted. "Lets just say I owe Harry."

"Okay." Hermione chuckled. Silence fell over the couple and Hermione didn't know how to continue. How does she even get onto the topic of marking him?

The silence and the brow crinkling finally became too much for Fred to handle. "What's on your mind?"

"What makes you think something is on my mind?"

"Your brow crinkles in this cute little way." Fred told her; his thumb finding it's way to her forehead and smoothing out her worry lines. "What's going on?"

"N-nothing."

"Hermione." Fred deadpanned.

"Wha-"

"Tell me."

"Fine. Bill told me about Veela marking and now all I have this urge mark you whenever I think about you and I don't know how to do these things or what you think about it." She rushed through the whole thing and was left with a confused looking Fred.

"Okay. Slow down and repeat, please." Fred asked.

"Bill told me about how Veelas mark their mate." Hermione started to twiddle her thumbs together. "And ever since he's told me, every time the Veela potion stops working, I feel the need to find you and mark you. It's just, I don't know how you feel about any of this and I want to know how you feel about being marked."

"I see." Fred smirked; his smirk only slightly infuriating Hermione.

"It's not funny!" She swatted his shoulder.

Fred only laughed, reaching forward and pulling Hermione onto his lap, her hip meeting his stomach. "I didn't say it was." He whispered into her ear. Hermione shivered as his breath tickled her ear and her anger vanished. "If you want to mark me, mark me. I'm yours." He let his nose trail down the outer shell of her ear and down the side of her neck.

Hermione could feel her body wanting to react but since she still had the potion in her system, there was nothing she could do about it. "J-just like t-that?" She whimpered.

Fred let his teeth lightly scrape the side of her neck before he pulled back. "Yeah. Just like that." He smiled. "We're in this for life, love. If you're feeling the urge then act on it."

To prove that he was being serious, Fred leaned back and tilted his head to the side to give her access to his neck, a sheepish smile overtaking his lips. "I'm not sure how this works so mark away."

Hermione giggled and smiling brightly, she cupped Fred's face so he could look at her. "I have _some_ knowledge about how it works and, sorry to disappoint you, but it can't be done tonight." Fred pouted and Hermione chastely kissed it away. "Bill said that when I mark you, everything will come to me and I'll know exactly what to do." She pecked his lips again. "But in order for me to do this date with you, I had to take that spiffy Veela potion that keeps my instincts at bay. Sorry."

"Bloody potion." He murmured.

Hermione kept the kisses short and sweet, making sure not to get carried away with them. After all, they did have a movie or two to watch before the night ended.

"As much fun as this is," Hermione spoke out in between kisses, her confidence coming back now that the talk was out of the way. "I'm really curious as to what movie you chose for us to watch."

"Ah. Yes." Fred sighed. "The movies." Hermione slowly climbed out of his lap and watched as he stood up and walked forward, picking up three cases. "Harry suggested The Day After Tomorrow, Dead Silence, and Titanic."

Remembering that she had recently bought Fred a puppet, Dead Silence was out of the question. She didn't want to scar him. Titanic was way too long to fit into their night so The Day After Tomorrow was going to have to do. "Let's watch The Day After Tomorrow."

"Okay." Fred took out the movie and, remembering how Harry told him to get the movie to work, he put it in the DVD player and turned on the TV. Quickly making his way back to the sofa where Hermione was getting comfortable, he sat down and pulled her into his side; his arm resting around her shoulders.

The candles in the room magically went out and the movie started to play.

**. . .**

**. . .**

During the night, Fred had managed to get Hermione to watch all three movies with him. She tried telling him not to watch Dead Silence but Fred being Fred, didn't listen.

The sun had risen over two hours ago.

George, who had opted to stay at the Burrow overnight so Fred and Hermione could be alone the night before, opened the door to the flat and stopped mid-step. There, on the sofa sleeping comfortably, lay Fred spooning up behind Hermione. His arm wrapped possessively around her waist holding her tightly against him while her hand laid over his.

He smiled, shaking his head and set out for the kitchen to make everyone a cup of coffee. After the coffee brewed and the smell invaded the whole flat, Hermione awoke at the same time as Fred. She twisted around in Fred's hold and smiled lovingly at him. He leaned down to give her a quick morning kiss when a cough interrupted his plan.

Both Fred and Hermione looked around for the source of the cough only for their eyes to land on George smirking at them from the other side of the room.

"Morning." He drawled and then winked at the couple.

* * *

><p><strong>It took me forever to write this and I'm still not happy with the way it turned out but I needed to post something. So sorry. The next chapter, Fred and Hermione.. sort of.. <em>heat up!<em>**

**I also want to apologize to those who were expecting more from Hermione's Veela genes. I know some of you wanted me to add more to her traits but since she's left than half a Veela, I only opted to leave her with advanced senses, the capability to read emotions, and her protectiveness of her mate. Sorry there was nothing interesting. **


	10. Chapter 10

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'd like to apologize in advance for the awkwardness of this chapter XD**

* * *

><p>Weeks passed since George found Hermione sleeping over with Fred. George, being the prankster he is, held the information of Hermione sleeping with Fred as blackmail but quickly let it go when Hermione growled at him and threatened to scare off any possible new dates he thought about bringing over in the future.<p>

Hermione was currently in her flat, picking up the mess that seemed to grow and grow by the day whenever Fred visited. Since he was a frequent visitor to Hermione's flat, he had his favorite sofa chair that Hermione always left open for him but he always had to fight Crookshanks for. One time, Crookshanks ever went as far as clawing every time Fred neared the chair. He'd look over to Hermione for help but she'd only laugh and tell him to pick a new chair or face the wrath of Crooks. Needless to say, Fred was always leaving the flat with new scratch marks.

And they weren't from Hermione.

She had finally moved into the kitchen, magically putting the dirty dishes to wash themselves and other items to put themselves away. With a smile gracing her lips, she watched as all the items that were putting themselves away were all going to her newly deemed 'Fred cabinet'. He had managed to stock a cabinet in her kitchen with all his favorite snacks and juices that didn't have to be refrigerated since he could just cast a cooling charm on them.

With the kitchen now spotless, she rummaged through the cabinets and refrigerator for something to make for dinner but came up with nothing. Tonight was going to be the first night that Fred would be over with her without her being on her Veela potion. Every time that she remembered Fred would be over later in the night, her body hummed with excitement and she knew everything would be okay. It all seemed right.

In the previous weeks, she attempted another talk with Fred about _marking _him and got further with him than the first talk. She told him of the mind link they could share if he _marked _her also but he agreed that that specific link would probably cause trouble with them so early in their relationship. They had joked about Bill's predicament with Fleur for a moment before deciding that she should try to _mark _him soon. Hence the reason she was stopping the potion.

Sighing, and figuring that there was nothing to make for dinner, Hermione decided it was best to pick food up from somewhere else before Fred arrived.

**. . .**

**. . .**

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" George smugly grinned across the kitchen table at Hermione; setting down containers of food he had brought over. "I'm pretty sure you and Freddie will need some supervision tonight."

Hermione mocked glared at the twin standing across from her and crossed her arms over her chest. "George," she deadpanned. "If you do not leave, you being Fred's twin won't stop me from hexing you into oblivion."

"Touchy." He held up his hands in surrender. "I'll be sure to tell Mum you and Fred are having too much fun to enjoy the food she so kindly sent over for you." He sprinted from the kitchen just in time to hear some heavy object collide with the door that had shut behind him.

"If you mention anything about _having fun_," Hermione caught up to him before he could step into the green flames that were waiting to spit him out at his next destination. "I'll be sure to let it slip to your Mum that you've been _having fun _with half of the magical female population without her knowledge."

George pouted and surrendered. "Fine. You win." And without saying a goodbye, he stepped into the flames and disappeared from Hermione's flat. If there was anything George Weasley was terrified of, it was his Mum on a quest to marry him off to any witch he showed interest in.

And lately, he'd shown interest in a lot of female witches, but only for one thing and one thing only. He was still young and he'd be damned if he had to settle down at such an early age.

Hermione found herself walking back into the kitchen and started opening up the containers George had left on the table. In a rush to find something to make for dinner, she had settled on her last resort.

Mrs. Weasley.

Mrs. Weasley has always told her that if she needed something, all she had to do was ask. So ask she did. Earlier in the day, she floo-called Mrs. Weasley and when telling her mate's Mum about her upcoming dinner with Fred, and nothing in the flat to cook, Mrs. Weasley told her it was no problem and she'd send over the food as soon as possible.

And send over she did.

Hermione opened up the containers one by one and found that Mrs. Weasley had made Fred's favorite meal. Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese. She set out two empty plates and equally proportioned the food between the two of them. When the food was set, she cast a warming charm over the two plates and hid the containers from plain view.

Hearing a bell chime from the front door, she smoothed down the simple cotton dress she chose to wear for the night. Making sure everything was set in order, she left the kitchen in favor of opening up the front door.

It was as if everything happened in slow motion when Hermione let the door swing open. Her eyes slowly traveled up Fred's slightly dirty sneakers to his dark washed muggle jeans to the simple bouquet of daisies he held and finally over his ocean blue button down dress shirt with it's sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A lazy grin slowly lifted the corners of his mouth and before he could offer her the flowers, Hermione pulled him in through the entrance and pushed him up against the nearest wall.

Her heart was pounding, her blood was rushing, and the tiny voice in her head was nagging her to finally make Fred hers. Hermione clashed her lips against Fred's and he quickly responded, letting the flowers fall to the ground; long forgotten. Reaching up on tip-toes, Hermione swiped her tongue across Fred's bottom lip frantically seeking entrance. He obliged and as their tongues met one another, he reached around behind her, cupping her bum and lifting her up so she could wrap her legs around him.

When he was fully supporting Hermione's weight, he turned them around and pinned her against the wall he was just up against. The force of being shoved up against the wall caused Hermione to break the kiss and whimper in pleasure.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Fred panted. "D-dinner was first, right? We had plans for dinner?" His head sagged against Hermione's shoulder as he stood there trying to catch his breath and calm his body down.

"Screw the plans." Hermione growled from the back of her throat. "Sofa. Now."

Fred didn't dare question her as he carried her over to the sofa and sat down with Hermione sitting in his lap. Her body was on fire, Fred's kisses were sending tingles down her spine, and a familiar heat was starting to form between her thighs. It also didn't help much that when she tried to get comfortable, her new seated position had her straddling Fred's hips.

Now that Hermione had a somewhat clear view on things, their frantic movements by the door vanished and was replaced with slow and loving kisses. Their lips fit perfectly together and their tongues battled for dominance with Hermione winning out in the end. She ground her hips downward over Fred causing him to groan but she used her lips to muffle the sound. Pulling back slightly, she traced his jawline with her lips and tongue, leaving kisses along her way to where her mind was telling her to go.

"What do you want?" She seductively whispered in his ear, licking the outer shell before moving down to the juncture where his neck and shoulder met. Her hands moved up to his chest, fingering the buttons to his shirt before she started to pop them open one by one. "Tell me what you want."

"You." Fred moaned when Hermione latched her teeth to the side of his neck and started to slowly leave a different kind of mark. "Only you."

She pulled back and waited until Fred stared her in the eyes. He watched as her eyes started to glow a golden honey before they slowly faded into pure black. Hermione placed the palms of her hands on each of his pecs, slowly sliding her hands upward and over his shoulders as she slid his shirt off of him.

"This isn't fair now, is it?" He darkly chuckled as he tugged at the hem of Hermione's dress that had bunched near her hips. "I'm losing clothes while you still have everything." If it wasn't for the seductive grin that slowly took over Hermione's features, he would have been terrified since her eyes were still pitch black. She held up her arms and let Fred tug her dress over her head, leaving her in her matching black lace bra and panties. "Much better."

Hermione let her left hand trail to the back of his head where she wove her fingers into his hair, getting a grip on it. She kept his head from moving forward by the grip she had on his hair and smirked when he scowled at her. Ghosting her lips over his, she teased his bottom lip with her tongue before moving to his jawline and nipping a trail towards his neck. Fred's hands moved to grip her hips and as his skin touched her skin, every where they touched seemed to heat up.

They ignored the heat sensation and as Hermione's lips and teeth nipped at Fred's neck, she kept getting the urge to _mark _him. She let her teeth scrape roughly over his shoulder area and Fred groaned. "Do it. Do it now."

The Veela inside Hermione didn't need to be told twice and she lowered her lips above the spot she was going to bite. She placed a gentle kiss on his shoulder and felt as the skin beneath her lips heated up. When she pulled back, she saw that under the place she had just kissed was starting to glow. "I will forever love, care for, and protect you, Fred Weasley. You are the one I've been looking for and will no longer look elsewhere for comfort. You are the love of my life. My home." She mumbled.

Fred relaxed as Hermione spoke and when her teeth sank into his flesh, instead of groaning in pain, he groaned in pleasure. Shivers wracked his entire body and he knew that everything would forever be perfect as long as he had Hermione by his side.

Hermione pulled back from Fred, licking her lips and watching as her bite mark closed up but left the faint marks of her teeth forever etched into his skin. She reached out to trace his mark only to have him shiver and moan as her fingertips touched the bitten flesh.

"Oh, Merlin." Fred moaned. "What was that?"

"My mark." Hermione answered. "I guess it reacts to my touch." She touched it again and felt Fred shiver beneath her.

"If you don't stop that right now, I will take you on this sofa." Fred mock glared at her. "And I'm not too sure Crooks would like that."

Hermione smirked at him as she traced the skin around her mark. "Is that a promise, Mr. Weasley?"

His eyes widened at Hermione's boldness and he numbly nodded. "Or the bedroom. Whichever you prefer."

"Mmm." She hummed as her mouth drew near his ear. "Make it the bedroom." Before Fred could answer, her mouth quickly latched onto the spot she bit moments before and Fred shot up from the sofa with the strength he didn't know he possessed.

Hermione giggled as he tried to make it up her stairs carrying her. Walls were hit left and right and even poor Crookshanks managed to get his tail stepped on. With a muffled apology to the bipolar cat, Fred finally found Hermione's bedroom and ushered themselves inside before slamming the door shut with his foot.

* * *

><p><strong>See! Told you it was awkward.. and cheesy. I edited this over and over, and I still don't like the way it turned out -_- In case you haven't noticed, this story is Rated T so if you were expecting smut.. I'm sorry. I write awkward snogging scenes; can you imagine what a smut scene of mine would look like? o.O Haha :)<strong>

**I'm sad to say there's only one chapter left in this fic. See you soon!**


	11. Chapter 11

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: In case you don't have a tumblr and didn't see my last post: I switched my author's name from _GhostlyMalfoy _to _aForgottenWeasley :) _Read the bottom for more info.**

* * *

><p>The following week passed by without any major complications. Fred had stayed over with Hermione at her flat while they got used to their new life together. They attempted being out in public around other females and Hermione did quite well. Those who knew the couple and saw them together greeted them with smiles and those who didn't care that Fred was taken, well they got murderous glares from Hermione. She did manage to keep some of her anger under control but when a supposed regular customer from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes spotted Fred alone for a few seconds, her anger got the best of her and she managed to scare away the poor woman.<p>

Now that Fred was marked for life by Hermione, she didn't hear that little nagging voice in the back of her mind whenever Fred was near. Although she still felt the urge to be by his side, the urge to jump his bones had dimmed down some which Fred thought was a total bummer. He rather liked his heated snogging sessions with Hermione and whenever her Veela really came out, well the sex was just an amazing plus.

Sunday rolled around yet again and Mrs. Weasley wanted everyone over for a family day. Since Hermione or Fred hadn't seen anyone since the marking ritual, it was a good way to break it to everyone that their relationship was in a good place.

**. . .**

**. . .**

Things at the Burrow were in full swing.

Mrs. Weasley and Fleur were stuck in the kitchen waving their wands and making enough food for their whole clan.

Mr. Weasley had taken Romilda to the shed outside and was showing her all the muggle appliances he had ever gotten his hands on.

Charlie, Bill, Percy, Ron, Ginny, Harry, George, and Fred were all flying on their brooms, playing a quick game of Quidditch before the lunch started.

And Hermione was left sitting under the Weeping Willow watching the game of Quidditch pan out.

When Hermione and Fred had first arrived, Ron had quickly pulled Fred away leaving Hermione on her own. She tried to help out in the kitchen but Mrs. Weasley and Fleur had everything under control and sent her outside. Seeing that everyone else was busy, Hermione chose to just sit and watch.

Harry, Ron, and the twins were practically killing the other team when Mrs. Weasley had called them down to eat. The kitchen table was set outside, benches set around it so everyone could fit easily and enjoy their meal. Hermione was seated in between the twins with Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Romilda sitting across from them.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were seated at the head of the table, grouped together with Percy, Charlie, Bill, and Fleur. Every now and then, Hermione would catch Fleur staring at her and smiling as if she knew something while Bill glanced at her as well, a smug smile tugging up the corners of his lips. She tried to figure out why they kept looking at her the way they were but when she couldn't figure out why, she turned her attention to the people she was closest to.

Everyone was in a state of contentment and there was not one sour mood at the table. Hermione stole a glance at every face surrounding her and couldn't help but smile at the family she could officially call hers.

George had asked Hermione to pass the potato salad when Hermione finally got a good look at his face. Around his right eye, the skin was black and green. The signs of a fading bruise had marred his face and no-one seemed to care.

"George?" The curiosity got the better of her. "What happened to your eye?"

Silence fell upon their end of the table and Harry was the first one to crack a laugh. Hermione looked at him and he pointed to a bashful looking Ginny. Raising her eyebrow in question, Hermione faced George once again and waited for an explanation.

George playfully scowled at Harry and then decided to fill in Hermione. "It's your fault, really." He poked her in the shoulder. "That bloody puppet you bought for Fred earned me this black eye."

"And how did a puppet earn you a black eye?" Hermione fought the urge to laugh, knowing perfectly well what he must have done.

"I magicked it to walk on it's own the other night to follow Ginny whenever she was alone. It freaked her out a bit more than I anticipated and when I jumped out to scare her as well, she threw a wild punch and caught me in the face." Their end of the table broke off into laughter at his explanation.

"Deserves you right." Ginny smirked.

**. . .**

**. . .**

Dinner went by without a hitch and after a couple more hours of talking and laughing, people had started to leave. Charlie was the first to go since he had to be back in Romania by morning. Ron and Romilda were next, her pregnancy having drained all her energy made her extremely tired. And Percy was the third to go when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had decided to call it a night.

Those who were left decided to all stay together for a while longer and made their way into the sitting area. Since there wasn't enough sofas or chairs for everyone to be comfortable, the men pushed all the furniture to the walls while Hermione transfigured the biggest sofa into a large sitting cushion in the middle of the room. They were all able to sit or lay on the floor in comfort with each other.

Hermione was laying on her back, playing with Fred's hand while he sat up and chatted with George. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Bill and Fleur sitting up next to her, Fleur's back to his chest and Bill whispering into her ear as they glanced at her and smiled knowingly yet again. Wanting to know what was going on, she stared them head on and opened her mouth to speak.

"Okay. What's going on?" She stared at Bill and Fleur, Fred and George's chat coming to a stop. Harry and Ginny were in their own little world side-by-side but when Hermione spoke, their attention was on her. "Why do the both of you keep looking at me and laughing. Did I miss something?"

"No." Bill answered her. "But apparently we did." His smile grew wider and for some reason, Hermione didn't want to know anymore. "When exactly were you going to tell us that you _marked _Freddie?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "How did you-" She trailed off from her question as she took a look at Fleur and instantly knew how Bill knew. Fleur could sense it.

"You mean, I'm the only one who knew?" George piped up, breaking the silence. "I was actually the first person to actually know something?" Hermione didn't have to question how George knew since one look at a guilty looking Fred told her everything she needed to know.

"That's not fair." Bill pouted. "I took you into my home and you didn't even tell me you had marked your mate."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Bill and moved her right leg to kick him in the back. "What's not fair is that you told me the marking ritual didn't involve sex and it did!" Having gotten over her shyness about sex with Fred, Hermione was now a bit bolder and didn't wince when that sentence left her very own mouth.

"And that's our cue to leave!" Ginny shot up from the floor, pulling Harry along with her. "I love you, 'Mione, but I really don't want to hear any sexual stories involving my brother. Congrats on claiming your man, though." She walked around the cushion and pulled Hermione up into a seated position so she could lean down and give her hug.

Ginny and Harry said their goodbyes quickly and apparated back to their home they shared.

After the chuckling from Ginny's hasty exit, Bill turned his attention back to the topic. "The marking ritual doesn't involve sex." Bill told Hermione. "But it _can_ if you don't know how to control your emotions."

"You didn't tell me that part!" Hermione aimed another playful kick at him.

"Oh come on, love." Fred laced his fingers with the hand that Hermione had a hold of. "Don't pretend like you didn't enjoy the sex that night. You practically had me take you on the sofa but we made it to your bedroom perfectly fine."

Hermione had the urge to cover her face but she let her contained laughter out. "Must you talk so bluntly about our personal lives?"

"Of course he must." George answered for his twin. "After all, it is expected when you're attracted to a Weasley."

* * *

><p><strong>So sorry for the abrupt short ending! In case you don't follow me on tumblr, there <em>IS <em>a sequel in the works. The first two chapters of the upcoming sequel are "missing scenes" from this story, followed by the remaining chapters that show you how Fred and Hermione's life panned out :)**

**If you do have a tumblr, go follow for updates on when I post fics or any information on what I'm working on. You can also ask questions there that I can answer even if you _DON'T _have an account!**

**Tumblr: **hogwarts-secret-keeper .tumblr .com **Just remove the spaces between that link.**


End file.
